Rodriguez Continues to Sit, Wait

Eleven days into June, Francisco Rodriguez is still looking for his first save opportunity of the month. It has been so long since the Angels closer recorded a save, he can’t even remember his last one, which, for the record, came in the team’s 6-3 win over Minnesota on May 30.

A rash of blowout victories, sprinkled with a few blowout losses and several losses in which the Angels failed to pull even in the later innings, has rendered Rodriguez virtually moot for a week and a half.

In fact, Rodriguez has pitched in only one tight game since saving a 7-6 win over Texas on May 23, when he threw two scoreless innings in a tie game the Angels eventually won over Minnesota on May 29.

The right-hander threw a mop-up inning May 24, he recorded three-run saves May 26 and May 30, threw a mop-up inning in which he gave up two home runs in a 14-2 victory over Cleveland on June 4, and worked another mop-up inning Saturday night.

“Any closer will tell you the same thing -- they say you’ve got to go after the hitter, but it’s not the same,” Rodriguez said. “The adrenaline you have in your body, the rush, it’s way different in save situations.”

This wasn’t a problem last season, when the Angels were 50-37 in games decided by two runs or fewer, and Rodriguez and set-up man Scot Shields were worked to the point of exhaustion. Only 23 games have been decided this season by two runs or fewer, with the Angels winning eight.

“I’m just bored -- I’d rather be on the mound than the bullpen bench,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve just got to find a way to stay sharp, keep playing catch, throw side sessions.”

It would seem difficult for a closer to maintain his edge with such little meaningful work, “but it comes back automatically,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not worried about that.”

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First baseman Casey Kotchman has picked up the pace in his return from mononucleosis, playing catch, hitting off a tee and doing some agility work.

“I’m starting to build up some stamina,” said Kotchman, who has been on the disabled list since May 9.

Kotchman is weeks away from playing again, and he’ll need a lengthy minor league rehabilitation stint before returning to the Angels. But with Kendry Morales filling in capably at first, Kotchman may not have a job to return to.

“I haven’t thought about that,” Kotchman said. “Any time you consume your thoughts with things you can’t control, it clouds the things you can control, and for me, the thing I can control is getting healthy.”

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Bartolo Colon threw off a bullpen mound for 10 minutes in preparation for his third minor league rehab start Monday night at Salt Lake. “I was encouraged by the way he threw,” pitching coach Bud Black said. “He had no problems.”