Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Baseball Team

It began soon after the news broke Thursday morning -- a handful of bouquets, a lone baseball and some loose papers, expressions of sorrow from a few grieving fans outside the entrance to Angel Stadium. Inside the stadium, the flags flying at half-staff. But the procession of visitors didn't end and by nightfall, this makeshift tribute to pitcher Nick Adenhart was of a size and scope equal to the profound sense of loss washing over anyone who watched.

As darkness gave way to dawn, the doctors delivered the awful news: There was nothing more they could do to save his son. Jim Adenhart found his sanctuary where his son found joy. The hospital was no place for a grieving father, not in the hour after death, not when there was solace in life, and in baseball. And so the Angels unlocked their stadium, and their clubhouse, for a private sunrise service Thursday morning.

There was a considerable void in the lineup Thursday night. While the Angels played the Mariners, cleanup batter Vladimir Guerrero, diagnosed with a right pectoral strain, traveled to Southern California to be examined by a team physician. How long the slugger remains sidelined will be determined by the course of action Dr. Lewis Yocum recommends.

The Angels could finally breathe a sigh of relief Thursday night when Roy Corcoran, one of Seattle's primary setup men, replaced starter Chris Jakubauskas in the sixth inning with the Mariners ahead by a run. That was just the impetus the Angels needed to reel off four straight singles during a five-run rally that propelled them to a 5-1 victory in Safeco Field, ending Seattle's six-game win streak.

An offense that was already struggling to score runs received a major body blow Friday when Vladimir Guerrero was diagnosed with a torn pectoral muscle, an injury that sent the Angels slugger to the disabled list and will sideline him for at least a month and probably longer. "Obviously, short of Vlad needing surgery, this is a big blow," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll see how he progresses. Some of the windows we've been given [for how long he'll be out] are optimistic; some are longer.

It had all the makings of one of those character-building wins, a night on which the Angels responded courageously to the adversity of losing Vladimir Guerrero to the disabled list before the game and starter Dustin Moseley after three innings to an elbow injury.

There was one problem with Darren Oliver's giving the Angels four superb one-run, five-hit innings in a spot start against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night. The veteran left-hander couldn't replace himself. Oliver handed the ball and a one-run lead to a shaky bullpen in the fifth inning, and the relievers made another mess of things.

Reliever Scot Shields made a slight adjustment in his delivery during a 15-pitch bullpen workout over the weekend and is confident he has ironed out a mechanical flaw that may have led to his early-season struggles. The veteran setup man begins tonight's game against Detroit with an 0-1 record and 7.20 earned-run average, having given up four runs, four hits and five walks in five innings.

The Angels closed ranks to honor one of their own Thursday morning, holding a private memorial service in Angel Stadium for Nick Adenhart, the 22-year-old pitcher who was killed in an April 9 traffic crash. Jack Grogger, the team's chapel leader, presided over the 45-minute service, which was held around home plate. In attendance were Angels players, coaches, front-office employees and the team's broadcasters.

A pair of minor earthquakes shook Angel Stadium on Thursday night, but the twin tremors couldn't even crack the top five list of oddities that occurred during the Angels' 10-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers. First, there was pitcher Matt Palmer, who went 1-1 with an 11.74 earned-run average in two games at triple-A Salt Lake before being called up to plug the latest hole in the Angels' rotation.