Mike Scioscia says he hasn't settled on a postseason roster, but the contours of the Angels' pitching rotation for their first-round series with the Boston Red Sox appear to be taking shape.
Scioscia announced that right-hander Ervin Santana, who gave the Angels the division title Monday with a seven-hit shutout of the Texas Rangers, will start the playoffs in the bullpen.
Scioscia juggled his pitching staff to have John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders start the final four regular-season games in that order, and that's likely to be the way they will pitch against Boston.
"We're going to use those guys in some combination, which is still being determined," Scioscia said. "We're not committing to anything. We can still tinker with it."
In his final tuneup before the playoffs, Lackey made just 40 pitches in the Angels' final home game of the regular season Thursday, giving up a two-run home run to Chris Davis in an 11-3 Rangers win.
Although Scioscia started six regulars including Lackey, by the sixth inning nine of the 10 players in the lineup were minor leaguers.
If Scioscia sticks with that rotation, the Angels would start two left-handers in Fenway Park, with its short left field. Kazmir and Saunders have had success there, with Kazmir going 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts for Tampa Bay this summer while Saunders is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA lifetime in Boston.
"If you look at how those guys have fared, they've pitched very well there," Scioscia said. "So that would be an option we'll be looking at."
Right-hander Jose Arredondo, meanwhile, may have pitched himself out of consideration for a spot on the playoff roster by walking three consecutive batters in a two-run ninth. Arredondo missed the strike zone with 17 of his 28 pitches.
The Adenharts get a cut
The Angels had a players-only meeting Wednesday to determine how they will divide their playoff shares. Although that information is kept closely guarded until after the World Series, it was learned the team has voted a full share to the family of rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed along with two friends when the car in which they were riding was struck by an alleged drunk driver after the third game of the season.
A full playoff share for the Angels last season was worth $32,022.38, and a full share for the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies amounted to $351,504.48.
On the mend
