ANAHEIM, Calif. – Garrett Richards' corner locker stall at Angel Stadium was cleared out Friday afternoon – and then filled up with the belongings of Eric Hurley.
That's how fast it happens. Less than 24 hours after the Angels returned Richards to the minors following his second consecutive poor outing, they called up Hurley from Triple-A Salt Lake.
The Angels sent Richards down primarily because they need another arm in the bullpen, at least until the four-day break for the All-Star Game. But he didn't help his cause much on Thursday, giving up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings to the Baltimore Orioles after struggling five days earlier against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"Garrett's not the finished product," manager Mike Scioscia said. "The start in Toronto and then last night, some of his flaws showed up. Some flaws showed up in earlier games, but he managed to make pitches and showed the stuff to get out of it. He pitched some terrific games for us leading up to his last two."
In fact, Richards was 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA in four starts after being promoted when right-hander Jered Weaver went on the disabled list with a lower-back strain. His work was impressive enough that he stayed in the rotation when Weaver was activated and Jerome Williams was put on the DL following a severe asthma attack.
But after giving up 19 hits and 12 earned runs over a span of 8 2/3 innings, however, the Angels decided more work was needed.
"He just wasn't able to get back into counts like he was earlier," Scioscia said. "In some games, he had a knack of getting that 2-1 pitch in a good zone and getting back into a count or maybe putting a guy away.
"You could just see the stuff is there, the talent's there. As he gets a little more experience, some of these little flaws will start to evaporate and you're going to have a really strong starting pitcher."
Scioscia sees Hurley, 26, as short-term help for a bullpen that's been used too often in recent days. He still hasn't named a starter for Sunday's game against the Orioles but said it was unlikely to be Hurley. It's likely the Angels will make another call-up from Salt Lake, either Brad Mills or Greg Smith, both left-handers.
At Salt Lake, Hurley had a 7-7 record and 5.38 ERA in 17 starts for the Bees. He was a non-roster invitee in spring training but struggled, yielding 12 earned runs in 14 1/3 innings.
"Eric is an interesting guy," Scioscia said. "He'll help us in the bullpen right now and give us some length. He has good stuff. It took him a while to get back and figure some things out in Triple-A. He had a rough spring for us, but he's made some adjustments and has been a guy that's been pitching well for the last month."
Hurley hasn't been in the big leagues since 2008 when he pitched in five games for the Texas Rangers. But he said his progress was slowed by a variety of injuries, including rotator cuff surgery in 2009, wrist surgery in 2010 and a fractured skull from a line drive that put him down for two months in 2011.
"It's been a long road, a bumpy one," he said. "I haven't really been on the field to prove my case. This is really my first season where everything got off to the right start through spring training."
Now he has a chance to prove he belongs in the big leagues. It just might not be a long one.
