Angels’ Weaver goes on disabled list; Hunter back in lineup

Jered Weaver, the Angels’ ace and starting pitcher for the American League in last summer’s All-Star Game, was put on the 15-day disabled list after he was diagnosed Tuesday with a lower-back strain and spasms.

The lanky right-hander said he has a strain with spasms and some inflammation in one of his disks. He expects to miss two to three starts but no definitive timetable has been set for his return.

“It’s disappointing news, but it feels a lot better than it did yesterday,” Weaver said.

Right-hander Garrett Richards, who is already with the team, will be recalled from triple-A Salt Lake.

Weaver, who is 6-1 with a 2.61 earned-run average in 11 starts, left Monday night’s game against the New York Yankees after 12 pitches because of severe lower-back pain, which the right-hander said felt like “somebody stabbed me in the back.”

Weaver underwent an MRI exam and X-rays Tuesday, but it was unclear 3 1/2 hours before the Angels’ game against the New York Yankees how serious the injury is and how long Weaver will be sidelined.

Weaver has gone on the DL only once in his career, when biceps tendinitis sidelined him for the first three weeks of the 2007 season. While the Angels were on the verge of losing their top pitcher, they did regain their right fielder.

Torii Hunter, on the restricted list for the last two weeks while he dealt with the arrest of his 17-year-old son, Darius McClinton-Hunter, on a sexual assault charge in Texas, was reinstated Tuesday and is in the lineup and batting sixth for the Angels, who have won seven straight games.

The Angels lineup: LF Mike Trout, 3B Maicer Izturis, DH Albert Pujols, 1B Mark Trumbo, 2B Howie Kendrick, RF Torii Hunter, SS Erick Aybar, CF Peter Bourjos, C Bobby Wilson, P Dan Haren.

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