Garrett Richards made a strong case for breaking into the rotation full time (Image: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

At Salt Lake, Richards saw his strong spring turn to a strong April, but soon that strong start fizzled out. Over his last six starts in Triple-A, Richards allowed 41 hits and walked 23 in just 29.1 innings of work. Richards was having trouble with his command, admitting that he was “nibbling” more than he should, and the results were less than stellar. However, when Jered Weaver wen to the DL with a back sprain, Richards got the call-up and would fill in for the ace as the fifth Angels starter. After his first start last night, he might be poised to start another controversy.

Richards decided to attack opposing hitters rather than nibbling like he’d been doing in Salt Lake, and the result was spectacular. In his season debut against Seattle on Tuesday, Richards was dominant through 7.0 innings, allowing just one run off a Michael Saunders solo home run and four hits, striking out eight and walking just two. It was Richards’ first major league win after going 0-2 in five starts with a 5.79 ERA last season when he was thrown into the fire due to injuries to the rotation.

While he was just a wide-eyed kid in that moment, he looked like a man ready to stay in the big leagues last night. He retired six of the first seven hitters he faced. He struck out the side in the second inning on just 11 pitches. He retired the first two batters he faced in five of the seven innings he pitched. His fastball was still hitting 95 on the gun in the seventh inning. Outside of the long ball to Saunders, Richards was flawless against the M’s.

By comparison, against the same lineup the night before, Ervin Santana was shelled for seven runs on eight hits while walking half a dozen in 4.2 innings, which begs the question: Would Richards be a better fit for the starting rotation than Santana? The veteran righty is coming off his third straight bad start, is 2-7 with an ERA of 5.33, and in 12 Santana starts this season, the Angels are just 3-9. Santana has been, without question, the weak link of this Halos rotation, but is it time to push him out and into the bullpen?

Santana has built a career on two pitches, a fastball and a slider. He has used the pitches to near perfection to accumulate double digit wins in five of his seven big league seasons. But the lack of a quality third pitch may be catching up to Santana as he struggles to find a consistent delivery. Some time in the pen could help Santana fix whatever is ailing him, or maybe even allow him to develop his third pitch (a change-up) to the point of being willing/able to throw it. Regardless, he would add a strong arm to the Halos bullpen where his two-pitch repertoire wouldn’t hurt him like it does as a starter.

One start won’t make Garrett Richards a success in the majors, but his performance will give the Halos something to think about. If he can replicate his performance last night, he’s going to give Mike Scioscia a very difficult decision when Jered Weaver comes off the DL. Should he stick with his guy Santana while he tries to figure out what’s gone horribly wrong? Or does he give the young fireballer Richards his chance at cracking a major league rotation? Either way, the Angels will have plenty to think about before Weaver’s return.

LaTroy Hawkins - fractured pinky

Hawkins has been on the disabled list since May 7 when he fractured the pinky finger on his right hand. He seems to be the closest to returning to the club, already participating in a rehab sting with High Class A Inland Empire. He pitched one inning, allowing a home run and a single, while striking out two. He’s scheduled to move up to Triple-A Salt Lake for another rehab appearance on Tuesday and the team will reevaluate his progress after that.

The Angels hope Weaver and Iannetta come back good as new off the DL (Image: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE)

Jered Weaver - lower back strain

Weaver was placed on the DL May 29 with a lower back strain when he injured himself during the first inning of his start against the New York Yankees. He has been able to participate in long-tossing from flat ground without any pain up to 120 feet. He hasn’t reached the full-length long-toss of 200 feet, and there is still no timetable set for when he’ll throw off of a mound. The angle of coming off a mound will be a true test to Weaver’s back health, and the team will be sure not to rush anything to get him back.

Chris Iannetta – fractured wrist

Iannetta was placed on the DL May 10 and has missed 21 games while recovering from surgery on a fractured right wrist. He’s been cleared for long-tossing and swinging a bat, and has said that the intial 6-8 week timetable for his return is still valid. That would put Iannetta’s return about two weeks out. The Angels have felt Iannetta’s absence, getting just one RBI from the catcher’s position since his injury.

Bobby Wilson - concussion

To pile on to the thinning catcher position, Bobby Wilson has been placed on the 7-day concussion DL after taking a foul ball off the face mask in the first inning against the Mariners on Monday. Wilson stayed in the game after taking the shot, but was replaced by John Hester before his at-bat in the second inning. Wilson has a history of concussions, so the team was taking a cautious approach with their backup backstop. In his absence, Hank Conger, who just got back last week from a month-long elbow sprain, has been called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and will make his first start of the year tonight.

Ervin Santana should be sitting, not starting, while he figures out what's wrong with his delivery (Image: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE)

After back-to-back no-decisions against the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees in which Santana was bailed out by offensive rallies, patience was wearing thin for the veteran righty. In those two games, Santana gave up three more long balls, pushing his total for the season up to 15, the most in baseball, on top of walking eight and allowing nine runs in just 10.0 innings of work. After pitching in the streak-ending loss against the Yankees, Santana shrugged off his early struggles, saying that’s just what happens when you’re a power pitcher like him, and he was backed up by Scioscia once again.

After last night’s game, however, he may need to re-evaluate his approach. In his second start against the soft-hitting Seattle Mariners, Santana was shelled for his worst outing of the season. Servin’ Ervin surrendered seven runs on eight hits in just 4.2 innings, walking six and striking out just one. It’s the second time this season that Santana has walked at least six Mariners (which is made worse by the fact he’s only faced them twice). In two starts against Seattle, who are a three touchdown performance against Texas away from being in the bottom of the AL in runs, Santana has allowed 11 runs on 12 hits, with 13 walks, four strikeouts, and a pair of home runs allowed in just 9.2 innings of work. The M’s may want to ask the Angels if they can take Santana with them when they leave to throw BP for them, and the Angels should consider it.

Last night’s game was a model of futility that has come to define Ervin Santana in 2012. He gave up a shot over the center field wall to Kyle Seager in the first inning for his 16th home run surrendered on the year, the highest mark in baseball. In the third inning, he walked three straight batters, which set up a two-run rally for the Mariners, scoring on a John Jaso single and a Mike Carp fielder’s choice. In the fifth, Santana issued a free pass with two outs to Michael Saunders to load the bases before giving up a three-run double to reserve infielder Munenori Kawasaki, the M’s number nine hitter who entered the game batting just .158 and had managed two RBI before last night. Thankfully, Santana was pulled before he could do any more damage.

Early in the season, much of Santana’s struggles, at least in the win-loss department, could be attributed to a lack of offensive support. Over his first six starts, Santana received just three runs of support, all coming in an Opening Weekend loss to Kansas City. The offense has come alive behind him recently, but Santana’s struggles have only gotten worse. The team almost bailed him out for a third straight game, pulling within 8-6 in the eighth with the tying run in scoring position, but couldn’t push him across. Mike Trout had his first career four-hit game, and Kendrys Morales hit a pair of home runs, but it wasn’t enough to climb out of the hole Santana dug for the Angels.

Santana has been able to build a nice career using two pitches primarily; a fastball and a slider. His third pitch, a change-up, rarely gets used, and he’s never seen the need to develop a fourth one. Well, the need has officially arrived. Scioscia continues to defend his guy, saying that Santana’s stuff is as good as any in the the league “when he’s on,” which is a veeeeery important caveat. Santana has been far from “on” this season, and the blame is going to his inability to find that delivery to allow him to get consistent control of his pitches, which would be excusable…if Santana weren’t in his eighth major league season.

This is a guy who has accumulated double digit wins in five of the last seven seasons. He’s been a focal point of this rotation since 2005. He should know how to pitch by now. If he’s lost it, or if his stuff just isn’t fooling people like it used to, maybe some time out of the rotation would benefit Santana. He could learn to use his change-up more than 10% of the time, or figure out his delivery so the ball goes where he wants it to (and doesn’t end up in the outfield seats), or he could try and develop another pitch that will keep hitters off-balance a bit more. Something needs to change, because right now opponents are teeing off on what Santana is serving up.