Given the state of their bullpen, the one development the Angels could least afford is an injury to one of their relief pitchers.
Now they're dealing with two.
Right-hander LaTroy Hawkins and closer Scott Downs, the team's most dependable relievers, were injured in a span of three pitches Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Getting through its upcoming stretch of games won't be easy for a team that has endured dreadful bouts of ineffectiveness since the start of the season.
Who will step up? That's a question that figures to be answered soon as the Angels face the Minnesota Twins and the American League West-leading Texas Rangers on the road in the next seven days.
Hawkins was put on the 15-day disabled list Monday, out 4-to-6 weeks with a broken pinky finger on his throwing hand. Downs, who the team said suffered a contusion in his left knee, is listed as day to day.
The Angels filled Hawkins' roster spot by purchasing the contract of right-hander David Pauley, who signed with the club in March after he was released by the Detroit Tigers. Pauley was 2-0 at Triple-A Salt Lake with a 2.29 ERA in seven games, three of them starts.
Downs injured his knee avoiding a line drive off the bat of J.P. Arencibia in the ninth inning Sunday. Hawkins came in and threw two pitches to Omar Vizquel, the second of which was a line drive he caught for a game-ending double play. But Hawkins, who later tweeted a picture of his right hand with his pinky in a metal splint, was hurt on the play.
There's no minimizing their importance to the Angels, whose bullpen has an 0-6 record, six blown saves and ranks last in the AL with a 4.68 ERA. But Hawkins and Downs were the exceptions: Hawkins, who recorded his first save in three years Sunday, has a 1.08 ERA in 10 appearances; Downs has yet to give up a run in 9 2/3 innings over 11 games.
It's possible that manager Mike Scioscia will rely on newcomer Ernesto Frieri, who has pitched in two games since he was acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres last Thursday, to be his late-inning reliever. The right-hander has struck out four batters in two hitless innings, although he is not viewed as a closer and did not earn a save in two-plus seasons with the Padres.
In fact, one team executive told Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com that there are doubts Frieri can handle high-pressure situations, saying, "Who knows how it will go? His first five outings will be really important."
Scioscia also may simply give the ball to Jordan Walden in the ninth inning until Downs can return. Walden was the team's closer as a rookie last season but lost his job after giving up a two-run walk-off homer to Tampa Bay's Brandon Allen on April 26.
Walden has pitched just once since then, a scoreless inning Thursday against the Blue Jays, which Scioscia said was "definitely a step forward."
It's uncertain if he's ready to return to high-impact situations, but at the moment, Scioscia may have no choice.
