McPherson Recall Done for Offense

It wasn’t Bengie Molina’s strained right quadriceps, which sent the oft-injured catcher to the 15-day disabled list Monday, that prompted the Angels to recall third baseman Dallas McPherson from triple-A Salt Lake to take Molina’s roster spot.

A noticeable lack of production from the third base spot, where Robb Quinlan, Maicer Izturis and Lou Merloni combined to hit .163 (seven for 43) with two runs batted in and a .213 on-base percentage in the first 12 games, and McPherson’s success at Salt Lake were the driving forces behind McPherson’s recall after the rookie sat out the first two weeks of the season recovering from a herniated disk in his lower back.

“Hopefully, Mac will step up and bring some of the offense we need at that position,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of McPherson, who had 40 minor league homers and 126 RBIs last season. “He’s an exciting player. He has the chance to be a special offensive player.”

McPherson, who hit .308 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 10 games at Salt Lake, does not feel responsible for jump-starting an offense that has struggled to score at times but still ranked sixth in the American League with 62 runs, an average of 5.2 a game, before Monday.

“That’s not my job,” said McPherson, who started at third base and hit seventh Monday night. “Hopefully, I’ll have good at-bats, move guys over with productive outs.... It feels great to be back, but I have to produce to stay in the lineup.”

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Molina was in no mood to discuss the injury that sent him to the disabled list for the fifth time in his career.

The catcher had hoped the loss of about 25 pounds over the winter would eliminate the leg injuries that have forced him to the disabled list four times since 2001 -- the other injury was a broken finger -- but he suffered another one running the bases Sunday in Oakland.

“All his injuries aren’t just because he carried a little extra weight, it’s the demands of the position,” Scioscia said. “We’re obviously disappointed this happened, and hopefully it’s mild. But a lot of times, there’s no prevention. I don’t think the weight loss was a magic pill for him.”

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Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black held a lengthy closed-door meeting with struggling pitcher John Lackey.

Lackey is 1-1 with an 8.22 earned-run average in three starts and has been erratic from one inning to the next.

“I hung the breaking ball a couple times [Sunday] and I’ve got to tighten that up in my bullpen workout,” Lackey said. “I’m getting too much spin and not enough break.”

Scioscia and Black had a similar talk with Lackey after the right-hander was rocked for six runs in 3 1/3 innings at Boston on Aug. 31, and Lackey was 3-2 with a 2.82 ERA in six September starts.

“I pitched pretty well after that,” Lackey said. “Maybe they’re trying to catch it a little earlier this year.”

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Bartolo Colon, who suffered a minor left ankle injury Friday night, did not throw his scheduled bullpen workout.

But Scioscia said the ankle “is fine” and that Colon, who doesn’t always throw between starts, would pitch Wednesday night.