Versatile Moseley thriving in dual role

Dustin Moseley really is just happy to be pitching here -- or there.

Whether he’s starting or coming out of the bullpen as a late-inning reliever, the Angels rookie said he is simply pleased to be contributing at the major league level.

“Just to be in the big leagues, man, it doesn’t matter to me,” Moseley said of his role before the Angels played the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night at Angel Stadium. “It’s however I can help the team out.”

The 25-year-old right-hander has helped the Angels plenty during the season’s first two months; he is 4-0 with a 1.55 earned-run average. He has been equally effective as a starter and a reliever; he is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings as a starter and 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings coming out of the bullpen as a replacement for the ill Justin Speier.

Moseley picked up his latest victory Wednesday by pitching 2 1/3 solid innings of relief during the Angels’ 8-6 triumph over Seattle. He has become such a valuable commodity in the bullpen that Angels Manager Mike Scioscia announced as expected Thursday that triple-A left-hander Joe Saunders would start Saturday against Baltimore in place of the injured Bartolo Colon.

“We talked about not wanting to disrupt some things that are happening in our bullpen right now, particularly with Dustin Moseley,” Scioscia said. “He’s really throwing the ball well down there, so it makes sense to give Joe the start.”

That’s fine with Moseley, who before this year had made only one professional appearance as a reliever.

“I was a starter for six years, so that’s kind of what I’ve done,” Moseley said. “If I had my choice of what I would do, having done it for so long, I maybe would prefer that. But I really enjoy coming out of the bullpen. I enjoy the adrenaline rush, the fact that it’s short bursts of energy and you go in for one or two innings.”

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Orlando Cabrera, considered a strong baserunner, has had some rare misadventures in recent days. He was picked off first base Tuesday by Seattle’s Ryan Feierabend during a third inning in which the Angels had runners on first and second with one out and Vladimir Guerrero at the plate but failed to score after Feierabend picked off Cabrera and then intentionally walked Guerrero.

Then, on Wednesday, Cabrera was tagged out in a rundown in the third inning trying to advance from second to third after a pitch bounced a few feet away from Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima. The Angels also went scoreless in that inning despite collecting two singles following Cabrera’s leadoff double.

“I misjudged it,” Cabrera said. “I thought the ball was going further away, and I was caught in between. It was a bad mistake because I couldn’t score in that inning.”

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In his first professional appearance since contracting an intestinal infection in mid-April, Speier pitched one scoreless inning for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night. He gave up one hit, walked one batter and threw 14 pitches in the first game of a rehabilitation assignment that could last a week or more. He is scheduled to throw again Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday before being reevaluated. ... Garret Anderson, recovering from a torn hip tendon, was one for four with a double and a run batted in as the left fielder in his second rehabilitation game for the Quakes.

Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.

ben.bolch@latimes.com