Angels Gain; Colon in Pain

Kelvim Escobar still is on the disabled list. The Angels plan to activate him Tuesday, and by the end of the week he could be the most valuable player on the team.

For the Angels, an otherwise satisfying 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday was marred by two disturbing developments. Bartolo Colon, the ace, left the game in the sixth inning because of back spasms. Scot Shields, the setup man, staggered through another inning in which he lost touch with the strike zone.

If either situation does not resolve itself by next weekend, Escobar could be a savior, in the rotation or in the eighth inning. In the meantime, the Angels reclaimed sole possession of first place in the American League West, leading the Oakland Athletics by one game with 26 to play.

The Angels are most concerned about Colon, who leads the league with 18 victories. They are worried that today’s long flight to Boston could aggravate the back spasms, and they plan to evaluate him there before deciding whether he can make his next start.

“Right now, it’s hard to tell,” Colon said through translator Jose Mota. “It feels very tight right now.”

Before Colon’s injury flared, the Angels were enjoying their afternoon. In the second inning, Casey Kotchman hit a three-run homer, on a 3-and-0 pitch, for a 3-0 lead. For the first time in 60 innings, the Angels had a three-run inning. In the third, Vladimir Guerrero added a two-run homer for a 5-0 lead.

But there was no joy in Anaheim when Manager Mike Scioscia and athletic trainer Ned Bergert rushed onto the field after Colon’s second pitch in the sixth inning. He appeared to wince as he delivered the pitch, and Scioscia detected a weakness in his delivery. Colon walked back atop the mound, ready to pitch again, but Scioscia told him no.

Scioscia had told him yes a few minutes earlier, according to Colon. The tightness in his back first appeared on the morning after his previous start, and the Angels were aware of it.

“It’s been four days of pain in my back,” Colon said.

The pain subsided, then returned Saturday. Colon pitched effectively on Sunday -- “I was staying on top of the pitches, because I couldn’t bend down,” he said -- and after holding the Mariners to one run in five innings, Scioscia said that was enough.

“I said no, I want to go back out there,” Colon said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have.”

Colon recorded his seventh consecutive victory -- he is 10-1 following an Angel loss -- and Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 34th save.

But on the day after Shields faced seven batters and walked three, he pitched an improbable scoreless inning in which he faced four batters and threw three balls to all of them. He made 20 pitches, eight for strikes. He threw two wild pitches, walked one and struck out two.

“Scot threw a lot of pitches. He didn’t throw a lot of strikes,” Scioscia said. “When he needed to make a pitch, he sure made it.”

Colon said he experienced similar back tightness in spring training, without a long layoff or lingering discomfort. For now, Scioscia said, the Angels will put on hold thoughts of moving Colon up in the rotation and hope he can take his regular turn Saturday.

In the wings, they are thrilled to have Escobar, who had the lowest earned-run average among Angel starters last year and who had 38 saves for the Toronto Blue Jays three years ago. He’ll pitch in during the pennant drive, in the first inning or the eighth or somewhere in between.