Ortiz Gets Good News About Sore Shoulder

Ramon Ortiz stood in front of his locker and made the sign of the cross. He could not sleep Saturday night, he said, scared that the shoulder pain that forced him out of Saturday’s game indicated a major injury.

No worries, not after an examination Sunday by Dr. Lewis Yocum, the Angels’ medical director. Yocum detected nothing beyond the tightness Ortiz reported, did not order an MRI or other test and cleared him to resume workouts and start as scheduled Friday. Ortiz even felt well enough to play catch for a few minutes Sunday.

“No pain, nothing,” he said. “I feel very good. I am very happy. Thanks, Lord.”

The Angels will monitor Ortiz closely, convinced that he increases his susceptibility to injury by sometimes rushing his delivery.

“When he’s under control, he’s good. He’ll never get hurt,” catcher Bengie Molina said. “When he starts flying open, he has a chance to get hurt, and he was flying wide open [Saturday].”

Ortiz leads the Angels in victories (10) and strikeouts (99). He has pitched 148 innings, second to Scott Schoeneweis.

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Bob Wooten, father of Angel designated hitter Shawn Wooten, died Sunday morning from lung cancer.

Shawn Wooten will remain with his family in Covina through the funeral, then rejoin the Angels Thursday.

“Our prayers go out to Shawn and his family,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said.

In a May interview with The Times, Wooten spoke movingly of his father, who persuaded him to give baseball one more shot despite facing rehabilitation from reconstructive knee surgery and a comeback with an independent league team in Moose Jaw, Canada. After eight minor league seasons, Wooten made his major league debut last August, at 28.

“I got something last year that I worked my entire life for, to wear a big league jersey, and that’s as much my dad’s as it is mine,” Wooten said. “He coached me, he was always there, and he always said to never give up.”

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As weekends go, Mike Holtz has had better ones. On Saturday, he couldn’t even warm up, unable to pitch because of back stiffness. On Sunday, his work day consisted of a single pitch.

Holtz, whose role is to retire left-handed hitters, was summoned to face Toronto’s best left-handed hitter, Carlos Delgado. Holtz made one pitch--Delgado slammed it into center field for a run-scoring single--and left.

In 12 appearances since the All-Star break, Holtz has given up eight runs (four earned) and 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

If there is such a thing as wild-card fever, it hasn’t hit Orange County.

The Angels drew 19,129 to Edison Field, the worst attendance at any American League game Sunday except the truly meaningless one between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals.

The Angels are on pace to draw 2.03 million this season, which would represent a decrease for the third consecutive year.

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First baseman Casey Kotchman, the Angels’ top draft pick this year, is hitting .541 in his first 37 minor league at-bats, with 12 runs batted in and two strikeouts.

The two players drafted immediately after Kotchman, catcher Jeff Mathis and third baseman Dallas McPherson, are out for the season because of injuries.