Santana Injured; Angels Fall

The Cleveland Indians outscored the Cleveland Browns by a touchdown Thursday night, and that wasn’t even the worst of it for the Angels, who suffered a 14-2 drubbing at the hands of the Indians in Jacobs Field.

Ervin Santana’s season -- and, perhaps, his team’s playoff hopes -- flashed before the Angels’ eyes in the first inning, when the right-hander took a wicked Jason Michaels line drive off the inside of his left knee and was knocked out of the game.

The pitcher crumbled in front of the mound, writhing in pain, pounding the grass with his right hand. Though trainers initially called for a stretcher, Santana was eventually able to walk off the field under his own power.

X-rays at a local hospital were negative, Santana was diagnosed with a bruise, and doctors found no signs of structural damage. Though the injury isn’t as serious as it looked -- Santana, one of the Angels’ most consistent and effective starters, is confident he will be able to make his next start -- there is still cause for concern.

“It could have been worse, but it still could be bad,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Even though he’s not structurally impacted, if there’s a bone bruise and swelling, it will affect what he can do on the mound. We’re still optimistic, but we won’t know how he is for a couple of days, when the swelling goes down.”

Though Scioscia was able to preserve his two primary relievers, Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields, in the blowout, the Indians left the rest of the Angels bullpen in tatters -- not exactly the optimal way to begin a four-game series in Yankee Stadium.

Kevin Gregg threw 64 pitches in three innings, giving up three runs. J.C. Romero was bombed for six runs in the fourth, needing 34 pitches to record one out. Hector Carrasco needed 67 pitches to throw three innings, and Brendan Donnelly covered the final 1 1/3 innings in 21 pitches.

In obvious need of bullpen reinforcements, the Angels, who fell 3 1/2 games behind Oakland in the American League West, recalled right-hander Chris Bootcheck from triple-A Salt Lake after the game and optioned outfielder Tommy Murphy to Salt Lake.

If Santana can’t start Tuesday in Texas, Scioscia said Gregg or triple-A right-hander Dustin Moseley would pitch. Santana was just glad he didn’t end up on the disabled list Thursday.

“If that thing hit me on the kneecap, I would have gone straight to Anaheim and had surgery, so I feel a little lucky,” said Santana, who was hit in the same spot by an Alex Rodriguez liner on April 8.

“At first, I thought it was very bad. I thought it was broken. Then, I told Mike I wanted to stay in the game, but he said, ‘No, you’re done.’ It will hurt tomorrow, but I don’t think it will affect my next game.”

Santana threw only five pitches but was still saddled with the loss, falling to 12-6. It hardly seemed fair, considering the bullpen debacle that followed.

Romero entered in the fourth with the Angels trailing, 3-2. One walk and five straight hits later, the Indians were well on their way to a seven-run inning, which was capped by Ryan Garko’s three-run double off Carrasco.

Romero, who had not given up a run in five innings of his previous eight outings, began Thursday with a 6.14 earned-run average. He left with a 7.54 ERA.

Though his hold on a roster spot seemed tenuous Thursday -- and it’s possible he could be designated for assignment if the Angels need another starter Tuesday -- Scioscia continued to back the maligned left-hander.

“He’s had a real good run against left-handers but has struggled against right-handers,” Scioscia said. “Command has been his Achilles’ heel. As he smoothes out his delivery and gets under control, you can see the stuff is there. He still has a power arm. But he has to get more consistent with his stuff.”