Dodgers Feel Gagne’s Pain

The Dodgers’ injury-riddled pitching staff suffered its biggest hit yet Friday, when the team put All-Star closer Eric Gagne on the disabled list because of a sprained right elbow.

Gagne experienced soreness in the elbow while pitching Thursday, and an MRI exam and CT scan Friday revealed the injury. The Dodgers did not set a timetable for his return.

The injury, announced during Friday’s 8-3 exhibition loss to the Angels, means the Dodgers will open the season with Gagne, No. 1 starter Brad Penny, swingman Wilson Alvarez and left fielder Jayson Werth on the disabled list.

“All those guys are pretty integral parts of our ballclub,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “The important thing is to keep ourselves afloat and hold serve. Those guys are not months away. They’re a few weeks away.”

The new closer, Yhency Brazoban, made his major league debut last August and did not record a save in 31 games. The pitching staff could include Rule 5 draft pick D.J Houlton and four nonroster invitees -- Scott Erickson, Kelly Wunsch, Buddy Carlyle and either Ryan Rupe or Mike Venafro.

“We have a lot of depth on our pitching staff, but we’re taxing that depth earlier than I thought we’d have to,” General Manager Paul DePodesta said.

Gagne, 29, won the Cy Young Award in 2003 and has saved 152 games over the last three seasons, including a record streak of 84 in a row.

He sprained his left knee Feb. 24. Doctors told him that injury would take roughly six weeks to heal -- a timetable that extended into the first week of the season -- but that he could not worsen the injury by pitching. He did not make his spring debut until March 21.

DePodesta said he did not believe Gagne had weakened the elbow by tweaking his delivery to compensate for the sore knee, and Gagne agreed. The knee felt fine Thursday, DePodesta said, just as the elbow did not.

“It felt like a bruise,” Gagne said. “It wasn’t anything sharp. There wasn’t a shock.”

Gagne underwent reconstructive surgery on the elbow in 1997. DePodesta called this injury a “mild sprain” and said tests showed no evidence of muscle or ligament tears. Doctors prescribed anti-inflammatory medication, Gagne said.

“It’s almost a relief,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Gagne is eligible to return April 16, but Tracy said the Dodgers wouldn’t count on it.

“If it ends up being a little bit longer, that’s what we’ll do,” Tracy said. “I don’t think we’ll be looking to rush him back.”

With their pitching depth evaporating, the Dodgers acquired veteran Pat Mahomes from the New York Mets and assigned him to triple-A Las Vegas.

In the game, the Angels erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring seven runs in the seventh inning. The Dodgers committed three errors in the inning, including two by catcher Paul Bako. Vladimir Guerrero, who drove in three runs, capped the rally with a two-run double.