Mike Scioscia insists Ervin Santana’s elbow is OK

One day after Ervin Santana was rocked for seven runs and nine hits in one inning of a 17-3 loss to the White Sox, Manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels pitcher maintained Santana’s elbow was OK.

Santana was making his third start after missing the first six weeks of the season because of an elbow ligament sprain. His fastball hovered in the 92-mph range, down from its usual 95-96 mph, and his off-speed pitches were not sharp.

Santana’s velocity was about the same in his last start in Seattle on May 20, but his breaking ball and changeup were much better in a 6 2/3 -inning effort in which he gave up one run and five hits.

“The ball wasn’t coming out of his hand as good as it was in Seattle, but he wasn’t that far off,” Scioscia said. “He just missed his spots. I think he’s healthy, but there will be more growth as he gets into the season.”

Santana, who went 16-7 with a 3.49 earned-run average and made the All-Star team last season, said his elbow “feels very good.” The right-hander says he believes he, like many pitchers coming back from arm injuries, will work into his velocity in his next few starts.

He feels as if he has already overcome the mental hurdle of throwing aggressively after an arm injury, and so does Scioscia.

“He turned it loose in his rehabilitation starts, so we’re confident he’s healthy,” Scioscia said. “Now, he’s trying to get everything together. He has enough to pitch with, but I think there will be more in there as we move away from this.”

Now pitching . . .

Robb Quinlan? Yep, it almost happened Monday night. Had Jose Arredondo needed more than 25 pitches to get through the ninth inning, Quinlan, the Angels utility player, would have pitched.

Santana’s abbreviated start forced Scioscia to use Rafael Rodriguez for three innings, Jason Bulger and Justin Speier for two innings each, and Arredondo for one.

Scioscia did not want to use front-line relievers Brian Fuentes and Scot Shields in a blowout loss, and left-hander Darren Oliver was not available after throwing 29 pitches Sunday.

Scioscia didn’t want to use Arredondo, either, but had little choice after he had exhausted much of his bullpen.

So, Scioscia was prepared to let an Angels position player pitch for the first time since Chili Davis threw two innings against Texas on June 17, 1993.

Fortunately, Arredondo needed 15 pitches to complete the ninth, sparing what few fans remained in Angel Stadium the spectacle of a position player on the mound.

Hurting Hunter

The day after crashing into the Dodger Stadium wall to make a spectacular catch, Torii Hunter was “fine.” The second day after? The Angels center fielder was not so fine.

“Today, I woke up stiff,” Hunter said before Tuesday night’s game. “I’m hurting everywhere -- my shoulder, ribs, back, legs, calves. It’s like the aftermath.”

Did he need a day off? “Heck no,” said Hunter, who took a whirlpool bath and received treatment before starting against the White Sox. In fact, he felt so good, he hit his 11th homer of the season in the 4-2 loss.

Short hops

To replace Shields on the roster, the Angels called up right-handed reliever Rich Thompson from triple-A Salt Lake. Thompson was 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 12 games. . . . Pitcher Dustin Moseley, out since April 18 because of inflammation in the nerve running from his neck to his elbow, resumed his throwing program Tuesday.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com