OAKLAND — A shoulder injury to reliever Jason Bulger on the eve of the playoffs put a slight damper on a sharp outing by left-hander Scott Kazmir, who gave up three hits in five shutout innings in the Angels' 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
Bulger, who is 6-1 with a 3.56 earned-run average in 64 games, gave up a walk, a run-scoring triple to Eric Patterson and struck out two batters in the eighth inning before signaling to the bench that he felt tightness in the front of his shoulder.
He came out of the game.
"They didn't want to risk injury; it's more precautionary," said Bulger, who sat out a week and a half in late August and early September because of tightness in the back of his shoulder. "I'm not concerned. The good thing is I have a couple of days to rest up and get ready for Boston."
Bulger has been pitching in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
If his shoulder doesn't respond well over the next few days, Ervin Santana would assume more of a late-inning relief role, and Jose Arredondo would be added to the playoff roster.
"He felt a little twinge in the shoulder; he probably has a little tendinitis," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll evaluate it and see how he progresses. If it calms down, he should be OK for the playoffs. But it's certainly something the training staff will watch real closely."
Kazmir, who is expected to start Game 3 of the American League division series against the Red Sox in Fenway Park, was very encouraged by Saturday's start, in which he found the slider that had deserted him in recent games.
"For the most part, I threw a lot of good sliders today, especially against left-handers," said Kazmir, who is 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts for the Angels since his Aug. 28 trade from Tampa Bay. "I had a good feel for it."
Injury updates
Shortstop Erick Aybar, who sat out two games because of a bruised right hand, and second baseman Howie Kendrick, who sat out three games because of an infection below his right knee, each returned Saturday.
But utility infielder Maicer Izturis remained sidelined for a second consecutive day because of an injury to the outside of his left knee, suffered when he tripped over Texas first baseman Andruw Jones on Thursday in Anaheim.
Izturis, who starts at second base against right-handers and can also play shortstop and third base, could play in today's regular-season finale. Scioscia does not believe the injury will affect Izturis' availability in the playoffs.
