Saunders is sent to minors

Joe Saunders was 2-0 with a 1.96 earned-run average in three starts this month, including Friday night’s emotional victory over Seattle, when the left-hander, wearing a Virginia Tech cap to honor victims of Monday’s campus massacre, threw six shutout innings to help end the Angels’ losing streak at six games.

To which the Angels essentially responded: Thank you and have a nice trip to Salt Lake City.

Saunders was sent Saturday to triple-A Salt Lake to clear room for Bartolo Colon, the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner, who returned from a rotator-cuff tear to start Saturday night against the Mariners.

“It’s tough to swallow knowing you belong here, you can pitch here, but it’s not quite your time yet,” said Saunders, who was 7-3 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 starts for the Angels last season. “To go from a big high of [Friday] night to a low of [Saturday] is tough. I’ll go down and help them win. That’s all I can do.”

The Angels could have kept Saunders as a long reliever, but with injuries clouding the status of Colon and Kelvim Escobar (irritated shoulder), Manager Mike Scioscia believes the team would be better off with Saunders starting every five days at Salt Lake rather than pitching sporadically in the big leagues.

“I was hoping they’d give me a shot in the bullpen, but they don’t see me in the bullpen,” Saunders said. “I don’t see me in the bullpen either.”

Said Scioscia: “It’s never easy to send anyone out, and it’s really tough when it’s a guy you know is ready for the challenge of the big leagues. But right now, it wouldn’t be good for him or us for him to go to the bullpen. We need him stretched out, ready to go.”

Jered Weaver could feel Saunders’ pain. He was 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his first four starts of 2006 before being sent to Salt Lake in mid-June when Colon came off the DL. Weaver returned in early July and finished the season 11-2.

“I told myself I wouldn’t get mad when it happened, but when I got called into Scioscia’s office, I’m not going to lie to you, it was frustrating,” Weaver said. “It’s definitely tough. Joe deserves to be here. Hopefully he doesn’t take it the wrong way. You have to work your butt off to get back up here.”

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Much like the Atlanta Braves, Angels infielder Erick Aybar has been unable to reach his older brother, Willy, an infielder who has been AWOL from the Braves for a week and, according to his agent, is battling a substance-abuse problem.

“I call every day, and he doesn’t pick up the phone,” Aybar said. “It’s weird, because I don’t know what’s going on. I feel bad for my mom. She’s crying every day. Willy won’t answer the phone for her too.”

Willy Aybar, a former Dodgers infielder, failed to report to New York for a meeting with baseball officials Friday. He is believed to be in Boston with another brother, Francis.

“Vladimir [Guerrero] called him, too, and he answers,” Erick Aybar said.

“I’ve never known Willy to have a drug or alcohol problem. In the Dominican Republic, he’s a different guy. I don’t know what’s going on with Willy.”

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Escobar completed a 70-pitch bullpen workout Friday and is scheduled to be activated for Tuesday’s game against Detroit.... Former Angels shortstop Gary DiSarcina has been named manager of the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners, a Boston short-season Class-A team.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com