Matthews’ catch isn’t forgotten

Mike Lamb hoped to catch up with a thief Monday night. If Gary Matthews Jr. reached first base, the Houston Astros first baseman knew exactly what he was going to say to the Angels center fielder.

“You owe me some money in arbitration,” Lamb said.

Monday marked the first time Lamb and Matthews were on the same field since July 1, when Matthews, then a Texas Ranger, made a spectacular leaping catch, several feet above the wall with his back to home plate, to rob Lamb of a home run, a play that was widely hailed as baseball’s best of 2006.

“The positive thing is that highlight will probably live forever in baseball history,” Lamb said, “and if they run it back far enough to see who actually hit the ball, then I’ll be part of it.”

Matthews said he wouldn’t replay the catch in his mind when Lamb stepped to the plate Monday, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t hit the rewind button to July 1 every now and then.

“I think about it more often than you might think because people are always bringing it up,” Matthews said. “A few days ago, I was on deck in Cincinnati, and I heard a guy in the crowd say, ‘That’s the best catch I’ve ever seen.’ It’s a little odd to still hear about it a year later, but I take it as a compliment.”

Lamb, a former Cal State Fullerton standout, said there were no hard feelings.

“That was one of the greatest plays in all of baseball,” he said. “There are certain guys -- Matthews, Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones -- where you know if you hit the ball to center, you hope it lands behind second base or over the wall. Otherwise, you’re going to be out.”

Lamb had a home run, a triple and a double before Matthews robbed him in his last at-bat that day.

“I wish he dropped it,” Lamb said. “I would have stopped at first for the cycle.”

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Garret Anderson is confident he didn’t injure his hip as severely Saturday as he did April 27, when the left fielder tore his right hip flexor tendon, an injury that sidelined him for six weeks.

“But I knew I couldn’t play,” said Anderson, who left the game against the Dodgers after the first inning and was put on the disabled list afterward. “These injuries take time to heal. You’re not dealing with bone. It’s tissue, but it takes time.”

Anderson, who is expected to be out for three to four more weeks, aggravated the injury making a running catch of Juan Pierre’s fly ball. The fact he was injured playing defense shouldn’t relegate him to a designated-hitter role when he returns.

“If I can run the bases, I can run in the outfield,” Anderson said. “You have to run hard with both. There’s no connection there.”

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The New York Yankees have expressed interest in Angels first baseman-DH Shea Hillenbrand, but with Anderson on the DL and first baseman Casey Kotchman expected to sit out several more games because of a concussion, trade talks have been put on hold.... Kotchman, injured when he was struck on the helmet by a pickoff throw Saturday, said he felt better but will not begin working out until his mild headaches go away.... Juan Rivera, who broke his leg in a winter-league game, has been running on a treadmill and has been cleared to begin batting practice.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com