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08/11/2006 12:20 AM ET
Santana injured in loss to Tribe
X-rays negative but Indians hammer bullpen in defeat
By Mike Scarr / MLB.com
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Ervin Santana writhes in pain after taking a comebacker to the left knee. (Mark Duncan/AP)
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CLEVELAND -- The Angels got some bad news Thursday, and it came swiftly.
Just five pitches into his 24th start of the season, Ervin Santana was down, out of the game, but for how long has yet to be determined.
This is a team that has already played most of the year without Bartolo Colon, last year's American League Cy Young winner, and is asking a pair of rookies to help carry the load in the rotation in Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders.
Losing Santana for any extended period of time could have dire circumstances for a team that is trying to maintain a bead on the A's in the AL West.
So on a night they desperately needed a lift from the bullpen, there was no one willing to shoulder the burden as the Angels took a 14-2 beating from the Indians to drop the series.
Fortunately for the Angels, the news improved after X-rays were negative and the prognosis was listed as day-to-day while the club remains hopeful that Santana will be ready to make his next start Tuesday in Texas.
"We're going to watch it over the next few days," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It will be sore tomorrow, but it should improve over the next few days as he's getting treatment."
Santana was standing easily after the game and while he said it was sore, he believes he will not miss a start.
"I will be ready for the next game and I will try to do my best," Santana said.
The loss dropped the Angels 3 1/2 games back of the idle A's in the American League West as they head to New York, where they will begin a four-game series against the Yankees on Friday.
What possibly hurt more than seeing a key player hit the turf, though, was the bullpen turning a reasonable deficit into an insurmountable one. Four relievers followed Santana on Thursday night and three of them allowed at least three runs while J.C. Romero gave up a whopping six runs through just one-third of an inning.
Kevin Gregg took over for Santana and retired Travis Hafner on a fly ball but he then walked Victor Martinez. Shin-Soo Choo launched an RBI ground-rule double to center and Joe Inglett added an RBI single.
Hafner's RBI groundout in the second extended the Indians' lead to 3-0 and the Angels found some life in the top of the fourth when Vladimir Guerrero singled and Juan Rivera followed with his 20th home run this season, a two-run shot off Indians starter Cliff Lee.
But the Indians blew it open with seven runs in the fourth as they sent 11 men to the plate.
Gregg walked Ryan Garko to lead off the inning and struck out Aaron Boone before being pulled in favor of Romero, who stumbled through all seven batters he faced as they all reached base. The only out he recorded was a force out at the plate on a fielder's choice by Inglett.
Romero first walked Grady Sizemore and Michaels followed with a two-run double to center. Hafner doubled home a run, Choo added an RBI single and after Inglett's ground ball, Romero gave way to Hector Carrasco, who gave up a bases-clearing in Garko's second at-bat of the inning.
Garko hit his first career home run in the sixth and Hafner hit his 34th of the season in the seventh to help Lee (10-8) pick up the victory. Santana (12-6) took the loss.
"What hurt tonight is J.C. and Gregg threw almost 100 pitches in just three innings," Scioscia said. "That took a lot of pitches and a lot of the game and we eventually had to get deeper into our bullpen." Mike Scarr is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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