Colon to DL, again?

The tendinitis in his right triceps muscle has been bothering Angels starter Bartolo Colon for the past three weeks, and it's bad enough for him to miss a start, but the Angels hope it is not bad enough to require a trip to the disabled list.

Colon will miss his next scheduled start Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels will then use an off-day in their schedule next week to push Colon back in the rotation. He is tentatively scheduled to pitch again June 8 in St. Louis.

"From what our medical staff is telling me, this thing should calm down in 10 or 11 days to a manageable level," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

The Angels have not announced who will make Colon's start on Saturday, but all signs point to left-hander Joe Saunders. Saunders made three starts in Colon's place at the beginning of the season when Colon was still working his way back from a torn rotator cuff. Saunders has not done very well in Class AAA since being demoted (2-3 with a 5.06 ERA), but would be available to pitch Saturday on five days' rest.

The other candidate would be Dustin Moseley, but Moseley has pitched well in relief for the Angels. After going 2 1/3 innings to get the win in relief Wednesday, Moseley is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 12 relief appearances.

"The thing with (starting) Dustin is he's really become a guy who's been pitching toward the back end of games and he's pitching well," Scioscia said. "Until Justin (Speier) gets back, it's tough to disrupt that."