Four Men, but Only Two Spots

Darin Erstad was back in center field Monday night, his six-week stint on the disabled list because of an ankle injury finally coming to an end.

Let the Mike Scioscia juggling act begin.

The Angels manager will now rotate five players -- Erstad, Chone Figgins, Dallas McPherson, Juan Rivera and Tim Salmon -- through three spots, center field, third base and designated hitter.

But because Figgins leads off and figures to play most days, the other four will essentially be vying for two spots, leaving two on the bench.

Monday night, the odd men out were Salmon, who is batting .270 with six home runs, and Rivera, who was 11 for 36 with seven RBIs in his last nine games.

McPherson, who went 10 for 29 in his previous 11 games and is one of the team’s few power threats beyond Vladimir Guerrero, started at third, and Figgins at DH.

“Some guys will be fighting for at-bats, but that will be a positive,” Scioscia said. “We’re not just going to throw out the best bat every night. We’ll pay attention to defense and try to find some offensive cohesiveness.”

Defense is important -- the Angels have committed an American League-high 47 errors and have allowed 43 unearned runs, most in the major leagues -- and Erstad, a three-time Gold Glove winner, should provide a boost.

But ultimately, playing time will hinge on offense, which is probably why Scioscia said Erstad, who was batting .238 with four RBIs when he got hurt, will get “more time off than he’s accustomed to.”

McPherson helped himself with a run-scoring single and run-scoring double in his first two at-bats Monday night.

“Production is going to play, and it’s my job to produce, just like everyone else in here,” he said. “If everyone is producing, it’s a tough call.”

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Erstad went three for 33 in eight minor league games, seven for triple-A Salt Lake, “but they don’t put that stuff on the back of your bubble-gum card, so that’s OK,” he said.

“I had better at-bats and squared the ball up better the last few days. I played good defense, stole a base and did some situational hitting. I didn’t want to come back until I felt I was ready to help the team win.”

He wasn’t eight days ago. Erstad aggravated his injury at Fresno on June 5, sat out the next game and returned to Southern California to be examined. He rejoined Salt Lake in Tucson on Thursday and played through the weekend.

“In Fresno, I was babying it, playing with a governor on,” said Erstad, who has two bone spurs and an inflamed joint in the ankle. “In Tucson ... I played my game, and it got to the point where it was bearable. Hopefully, it holds up.”

Can Erstad play every day?

“I don’t know,” he said before the game. “I’ll lay it on the line tonight and see how I do tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll be able to play 25 in a row, but I’ll bring something to the table every day.”

To make room for Erstad, the Angels optioned outfielder Tommy Murphy to Salt Lake.

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Bartolo Colon didn’t make much of a case for being activated this weekend. In his third rehab start, and second for Salt Lake, the Angels ace, on the DL since April 16 because of an inflamed shoulder, was rocked for six runs and nine hits, including three home runs, in seven innings against Fresno. He struck out one, walked none and threw 66 of 89 pitches for strikes.