Percival Takes Impressive First Step

TEMPE, Ariz. â€”  Eight pitches from Troy Percival, and it seemed Angel leads had a secure place to go again. Assuming, of course, well, you know.

Nearly five months after shoulder surgery, Percival stood on a mound and threw a baseball past big league batters Friday. His fastball topped out at 94 mph, and he even spun a sharp curveball that he hadn’t trusted in years.

He pitched one perfect inning against the San Diego Padres in a 9-5 victory at Diablo Stadium. He faced three batters, threw eight pitches, and no ball was hit out of the infield.

Then he left the field, bouillon cube-sized bone chips and spurs behind him once and for all. What is ahead of him, he is sure, is his familiar fastball, upward of 97 mph.

“I want to go out there and be myself out there,� Percival said. “That’s all I want to do, is go out and be pain free.�

He could throw again as early as Sunday.

“It was much better,� he said. “Whenever I’m throwing bullpens I’m thinking too much about mechanics, worrying if the arm’s going to hurt again. But when I got out there I just let it go and I felt no pain. I don’t even remember what that felt like. I thought I was pain free [early] last year, but it was nothing like that.�

The doubt that comes with the scar of surgery, he said, is gone.

“I know I was throwing it good enough to get it by people if I had to,� he said. “That was all I was looking for. It may not be 100 [mph] for a while, but I think I’ll be back up around 95 by the season.�

While it would be beneficial for him to have the overhand curve that once complemented his fastball, or the split-fingered fastball that sometimes passes as a changeup, he is his fastball.

“That’s a big first step he took,� Manager Mike Scioscia said. “The fact of it is, his velocity was surprisingly good for a guy who had that long a layoff and who rehabbed as long as he has.

“He was sharp, but he will get sharper. And as his mechanics come together, he’ll get even more velocity out of that. Today, he had plenty to pitch with. I think he was throwing hard enough to save a game in the season, and I think there’s more in there.�

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Mo Vaughn had another hit and another run batted in--he’s batting .556 and has five RBIs in five spring games. More impressive, he has stolen bases in consecutive games and leads the club with two.

In fact, as he trailed into second base on the back end of Jim Edmonds’ steal of third, Vaughn playfully held up two fingers--one for each steal.

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Left-hander Kent Mercker gave up seven hits and two earned runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Padres, but was satisfied with his command.

It appears that Mercker requires only a decent camp to claim a place in the starting rotation.

“In my mind, it’s my job to lose,� he said. “I may be wrong, but if I don’t make this rotation, it’s my own fault.�

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In a split-squad game at Peoria, the Padres defeated the Angels, 4-3. Right-hander Seth Etherton gave up one run in three innings. . . . In Tempe, Bengie Molina homered and Troy Glaus had a two-run triple.