Ervins

Ervin Santana lounged back in the padded backseat of a golf cart and munched an apple. Comfortable place, comfortable outing. "My arm feels good," Santana said. "I'm good. " Five days after being struck on the right shoulder by a line drive, Santana threw four scoreless innings Monday against a Colorado Rockies lineup that included Carlos Gonzalez , Troy Tulowitzki and Todd Helton . He struck out four and gave up two hits and one walk. "That I feel good, that was the best thing ever," Santana said of the outing.

Angels starting pitcher Ervin Santana was forced from Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Chicago White Sox after being struck on the front of his right shoulder by an Alexei Ramirez line drive. Santana fielded the ball that gave him a right shoulder contusion and threw to first baseman Albert Pujols for the out, but clearly was in discomfort after being hit by the liner. Santana walked back to the mound area and bent over, placing his hands on his knees, then stretched as an Angels trainer and Manager Mike Scioscia came to attend to him. Seconds later, Scioscia was escorting Santana to the dugout and reliever Eddie McKiernan was summoned.

No wonder C.J. Wilson struggles occasionally with insomnia. Who can sleep when your mind is racing like the Porsche GT3 RS the new Angels left-hander says he once cranked up to 165 mph at the Fontana raceway? "I get up and I have 10 things I want to do every day," Wilson says during a recent interview over breakfast in West Hollywood. "I've had teammates who sleep for 10 or 12 hours a night. I don't know how people do that. " It seems 24 hours a day isn't enough for Wilson, the former Texas Rangers ace who signed a five-year, $77.5-million deal with the Angels in December and will join pitchers and catchers for their first spring-training workout Monday in Tempe, Ariz.

The Orioles' Mark Reynolds on Sunday accused Angels pitcher Ervin Santana of intentionally hitting him in the head with a fastball the night before. And a couple of hours later Baltimore pitcher Alfredo Simon stood up for his teammate by throwing at two Angels in the first inning, actions that will likely earn him a fine and suspension. "We just got hit yesterday and I've got to defend my players," said Simon, who threw up and in to Torii Hunter before hitting rookie Mark Trumbo , the next hitter, with his first pitch.

The Angels have been saying all season that they'll only go as far as their starting pitchers can carry them. If that's true, then they probably won't go much further. On Saturday, the Baltimore Orioles pounded right-hander Ervin Santana for two home runs in a five-run first inning, then cruised to a 6-2 win. The loss, the Angels' fourth in six games, combined with Texas' 7-6 win in Seattle, extended the Rangers' lead in the American League West to 4½ games with 10 days left in the season.

Reporting from Oakland -- Mike Butcher, the Angels' pitching coach, said he would take Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana "over anybody's top three starters in the game. " That would include the Philadelphia Phillies, who have the best record in baseball and a rotation led by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, who have three Cy Young Awards between them, and Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. "Absolutely," Butcher said. "We're not pitching to a pitcher. I obviously respect what they do in Philadelphia.

Time is running out on the Angels. A week ago they left town a season-high 12 games over .500 and in second place, 21/2 games behind the Texas Rangers, in the American League West. Yet despite the fact they closed out their brief trip with a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, by the time the Angels' charter flight landed in Southern California in the wee hours Friday, that deficit had grown to 31/2 games. Only now they have seven fewer games in which to make up the deficit.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas -- Less than two weeks ago the Angels had two rookies in their rotation, a regular catcher batting .177, an All-Star second baseman who wasn't playing every day and baseball's best prospect buried in the minor leagues. And they were five games out of first place and falling fast. None of those things was true when the team woke up Sunday morning — which probably goes a long toward explaining why the Angels have won seven of their last eight games, cutting Texas' lead in the American League West to two games with 30 to play.

With more than 30 games left on the schedule Angels Manager Mike Scioscia was reluctant to attach too much importance to his team's three-game showdown with the division-leading Texas Rangers this weekend. But he acknowledged the prospect of playing meaningful games in the final month is more appealing than the way the Angels finished last year, when they limped home in third place. "Anytime you see a goal ahead that is attainable and you have games that are obviously going to impact you getting to your goal … the fun stays in the game," he said Friday.

Neither Ervin Santana nor Jered Weaver has started a big league game on three days' rest, and both have carried heavy workloads this season. But Manager Angels Mike Scioscia will likely use both on short rest against the American League West-leading Texas Rangers this weekend. That would enable the Angels to start their top three pitchers at Texas — Dan Haren on Friday, Santana on Saturday and Weaver on Sunday. "If you're going to a four-man rotation or using guys on short rest three or four times through the rotation, some guys might unravel if they're not used to it," Scioscia said.