Rainout Forces Escobar to Wait

Revenge will have to wait for right-hander Kelvim Escobar, whose highly anticipated start against the Chicago White Sox in U.S. Cellular Field Thursday night was postponed because of heavy rain some five hours before game time.

A makeup date has not been set, but both teams have common off days on May 25, July 13 and Aug. 7. The teams were trying to avoid playing July 13, a rare extra day off for both teams during the All-Star break.

The May 25 date, which would suit the Angels, would require them to travel from a three-game series in Texas to Chicago before returning to Anaheim to begin a six-game homestand May 26.

But that would force the White Sox to play games on 27 consecutive days, a violation of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, which limits teams to games on 20 straight days. Players from both teams would have to agree to waive the clause before playing May 25.

The Aug. 7 date would require the Angels to stop in Chicago before a nine-game trip to Cleveland, New York and Texas, and for both the Angels and White Sox to play games on 24 consecutive days, which also would need to be approved by both teams.

The Angels have only three scheduled games remaining against the defending World Series champions, in Anaheim Sept. 11-13, so Escobar might not get another crack at the White Sox this season, which would be a disappointment after his verbal spat with Chicago Manager Ozzie Guillen this week.

“I wanted to beat the White Sox so bad because of all the things that have happened, all the controversy,” said Escobar, who will start instead against Seattle tonight in Angel Stadium. “I was ready to go.”

Guillen fumed because he thought Escobar intentionally hit White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski with a pitch April 29 in retaliation for Pierzynski’s role in two controversial plays during October’s American League championship series against the Angels.

The outspoken Chicago manager used the word “dumb” in several critical remarks pointed at Escobar, who took exception Wednesday and said: “I didn’t do it on purpose. Ozzie didn’t believe me. He called me stupid. He has no respect for me, so I don’t respect him as a man.”

Escobar said he was as emotionally charged to pitch against the White Sox Thursday as he was for his first start against the Toronto Blue Jays, the team he came up to the big leagues with, and his first playoff start, in Boston in 2004.

“I pitch every game like it could be the last game of my career, but I was even more fired up because of all the things Ozzie said,” Escobar said. “I’m disappointed.”

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Thursday’s rainout would seem to kill any momentum the Angels might have gained from their breakout offensive performance Wednesday night, when they emerged from a 15-game slump with a 12-5 victory over the White Sox, a win that featured a six-run ninth inning.

But Manager Mike Scioscia believes the impact will be minimal.

“There’s no quick fix to what our offense needs,” Scioscia said. “Wednesday night was a good start. We want to keep moving forward. As hard as these guys have been playing, and as frustrating as it’s been, we want to keep moving in the right direction.

“This off day won’t break anything up.”

If anything, after a four-game series on Toronto’s hard artificial surface, Scioscia said the break would be good for such players as Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero, who are “a little banged up right now,” he said.

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The rainout also pushed right-hander John Lackey’s start from Friday to Saturday, meaning Lackey will square off against good buddy Jarrod Washburn, the former Angel who signed a four-year, $38-million deal with the Seattle Mariners last winter. ... The Angels’ June 4 game at Cleveland has been moved from 10 a.m. (PDT) to 5 p.m. (PDT) to accommodate ESPN, which will televise the game nationally.