Washburn Is Ready for Saturday Start

One part of the Angels’ weekend rotation equation fell into place Wednesday when Jarrod Washburn, sidelined since Sept. 10 because of an inflamed forearm, completed a 12-minute bullpen workout without incident. Washburn has been penciled in to start Saturday against Tampa Bay.

But the Angels remain undecided about Sunday’s series finale against the Devil Rays because of Bartolo Colon’s balky lower back, and even if Colon is ready to start on regular rest Sunday, the Angels might hold back their ace for the opener of a four-game series at Oakland on Monday night.

The Angels hoped to start Colon on Saturday on three’ days rest, which would have aligned Colon to start next Wednesday at Oakland and the regular season finale at Texas Oct. 2. But those plans were all but scrapped when back stiffness prevented Colon from starting the eighth inning Tuesday night.

“Using Bart on three days’ rest is going to be tough to accomplish considering where his back is,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

If Colon, who won his 20th game Tuesday, has only two regular-season starts left, the Angels would prefer they be against the A’s and Rangers. But that would force them to either bring John Lackey back Sunday on three days’ rest -- doubtful after the right-hander threw 112 pitches Wednesday night -- start rookie Joe Saunders on Sunday, or try to piecemeal Sunday’s game with a variety of relievers.

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Washburn, who threw all of his pitches at “about 90%” capacity Wednesday, said the inflammation in his forearm “is not totally gone,” but he felt much better than he did 10 days ago.

“I don’t have time to get all the tendinitis out of there, but we knocked a good dent in it,” Washburn said. “I’ll be fine to go for the rest of the season, for however long that lasts.”

Washburn will be a free agent this winter, and Saturday’s start could be his last game in Angel Stadium as an Angel. Washburn has been far better on the road (47-24, 3.35 earned-run average) than at home (27-33, 4.67 ERA) in his career.

Is the left-hander getting sentimental?

“No, you think I’d be sentimental about the last time I pitch in this place?” Washburn said. “Hopefully, there’ll be a few more starts in the postseason, so I’m not going to think about this being my last one now.”

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Scioscia confirmed what has become apparent in recent days, that Kelvim Escobar has moved ahead of struggling right-hander Scot Shields as the Angels’ primary setup man.

“We’re going to need all of them,” Scioscia said of his relievers, “but with Kelvim pitching as well as he has, [the eighth inning] is a great slot for him, and that will allow us to use Shields earlier. It’s not a huge adjustment for the bullpen. It just adds depth.”

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The lower-back stiffness that forced Garret Anderson out of Tuesday night’s game after eight innings prevented the left fielder from starting Wednesday night. The Angels hope Anderson can return as a designated hitter tonight.