Rookie reliever O’Day opens season ‘in a daze’

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was confirmed when he was introduced with Angels reserves and jogged from the dugout to the first base line before the season opener: Darren O’Day’s feet did actually touch the ground Monday.

It was hard to tell a few hours earlier, when the 25-year-old reliever, who had never pitched above double A, was in the Angels’ Metrodome clubhouse, trying not to pinch himself too hard.

“It’s pretty wild,” said O’Day, the sidearm-throwing right-hander from the University of Florida who was not drafted in 2006. “I’ve been walking around kind of lost, in a daze.”

The combination of an outstanding spring -- 3-0 with a 2.04 earned-run average in 17 2/3 innings -- and injuries to pitchers John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Scot Shields and Chris Bootcheck netted O’Day his first big league roster spot, an achievement that brought joy to many.

“I had to turn off my phone the last couple nights to get some sleep,” O’Day said. “Everybody’s real happy for me. It’s been my dream to be here, but I’m only halfway up the hill; I want to stay here. . . . Obviously, they have three veterans who they’re waiting for to get healthy. I intend to show them I belong here.”

In his major league debut, O’Day got into, and out of, a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth inning, striking out Brendan Harris and getting Adam Everett to fly to left field.

O’Day had virtually no chance of making the team before camp, but when he got off to a good start and the training room began filling up with injured pitchers, his odds jumped dramatically.

When equipment manager Ken Higdon asked O’Day last week what jersey number he wanted, it began to sink in: O’Day was going to make the team.

O’Day then called his parents, who were about to travel from Florida to Arizona, and told them to bring the only suit he owns, the one he received as a graduation present from Florida, so he could wear it on the team charter to Minnesota.

“The first time I wore it was [Sunday],” O’Day said. “When we graduated, they gave you a suit to sort of send you into the world. Most guys wear it to work five days a week; I’m just wearing it on the plane.”

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It appears Maicer Izturis will have the first shot at the shortstop job. Izturis and Erick Aybar played well this spring, but Izturis was in Monday’s lineup, batting ninth.

“We want Izturis to get comfortable there, and then we’ll see how things shake out,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “If one guy plays well enough and runs away with the position, great. If we need to do it in some combination, we’ll do it that way.”

Though Mike Napoli got the nod over Jeff Mathis behind the plate Monday, catching will be more of a shared position.

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Setup man Shields (forearm tightness) threw 40 pitches in the bullpen Sunday and is scheduled to throw a simulated game in the Metrodome today. Shields could begin a rehabilitation assignment at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga this weekend. . . . Long reliever Bootcheck (rib-cage strain) is throwing off a mound in Arizona and should be ready to pitch in extended spring-training camp games by the weekend. . . . Gary Matthews Jr. (right ankle sprain) started at designated hitter and Scioscia said he hopes to play him in the outfield later in the series.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com