Scioscia Plays It Safe in ‘Pen

As tough a decision as it was, with a possible four-game sweep of the Yankees at stake, Manager Mike Scioscia put the long-term health of his two best relievers ahead of the short-term goal of the team Sunday.

Closer Francisco Rodriguez and setup man Scot Shields both pitched in seven of the Angels’ first 10 games after the All-Star break, including wins over the Yankees on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Although the Angels are off today, and although neither reliever threw more than 45 pitches in the three previous games, Scioscia said before Sunday’s game that he would not use either reliever against the Yankees, no matter what the circumstances of the game.

“Could they pitch? Yeah,” Scioscia said. “But right now it doesn’t make sense to extend them to a level that could be borderline excessive work.”

With a 1-0 lead through six innings, it was shaping up as the kind of game Shields and Rodriguez would pitch in, but when the Yankees scored three runs in the seventh en route to a 4-1 victory, it spared Scioscia any possible second-guessing.

Still, much went into the decision to rest Shields and Rodriguez. “How many pitches have they thrown? How fresh are they? How do they feel pregame? Did they look fuzzy the night before?” Scioscia said.

The fact that Shields retired three of four batters Saturday despite opening with 2-and-0 counts to three of them probably swayed Scioscia. Shields also leads the American League with 49 appearances. Rodriguez spent 15 days in May on the disabled list because of a forearm strain, and the Angels want to be careful with him.

“Bud is a stickler for making sure they get the rest they need,” Scioscia said of pitching coach Bud Black. “There are going to be times when the depth of our bullpen is needed. We’re more than a two-man or three-man bullpen.”

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Yankee broadcasters Michael Kay and Bobby Murcer spent several minutes during the second inning of Sunday’s YES network telecast ripping Angel right fielder Juan Rivera, saying the Yankees had to get rid of him because, according to Kay, Rivera “allegedly pilfered one of Derek Jeter’s gloves.”

Added Murcer: “Well, there’s a lot of sacred things that go along with the clubhouse, and one of the unforgivable sins is something such as that there.”

One problem: The player who stole Jeter’s glove was Ruben Rivera, not Juan Rivera. By the time an Angel official reached the booth to inform Kay and Murcer of the error, they had realized their mistake and apologized on the air.

“It was a brain cramp,” Kay said. “I feel awful.”

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Third baseman Dallas McPherson returned to Arizona to continue physical therapy on his hip, groin and lower back. McPherson is expected to begin taking batting practice this week and could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment this weekend or early next week.

Robb Quinlan, on the DL because of a bulging disk in his neck and an inflamed left shoulder, also went to Arizona for physical therapy. Tim Salmon, who has been sidelined the entire season because of shoulder and knee surgeries, has started running and will begin taking dry swings this week. The veteran still hopes to return in September.

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John Wooden, the legendary former UCLA basketball coach, paid a visit to Scioscia and the clubhouse before Sunday’s game. ... The Angels and Yankees drew 176,219 fans in four sellouts, an Angel Stadium record for a four-game series.