Lackey is no longer 0 for career

SAN FRANCISCO —  John Lackey was in an 0-for-7 slump when he stepped to the plate in the fourth inning Monday night in AT&T; Park. Not 0 for 7 at-bats, 0 for 7 years.

In 26 career at-bats in National League parks since 2003, the Angels right-hander did not have a hit.

Then, after Giants left-hander Barry Zito got ahead of Lackey one-and-two, batting coach Mickey Hatcher hollered some advice from the Angels dugout.

“I told him to get in the crab crouch,” Hatcher said, “and don’t strike out.”

The 6-foot-6 Lackey spread his stance and proceeded to foul off three pitches, take a ball, foul off another pitch and take a ball before sending a soft, run-scoring single to center on the 10th pitch of the at-bat for his first big league hit.

“I just spread out and tried to grind it out,” said Lackey, who came around to score during the Angels’ seven-run rally. “I didn’t want to strike out.”

Lackey, who gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings and struck out 10 in the Angels’ 9-7 victory, called for the game ball. He will also ask Robb Quinlan for the bat he borrowed and put the mementos on a shelf in his billiards room.

Lackey was an outstanding hitter in college, when he played first base, and he has made fairly consistent contact in the big leagues, with only eight strikeouts in 28 at-bats.

“I don’t strike out much,” Lackey said. “I just hadn’t found any holes.”

Torii vs. wall

The outfield wall in AT&T; Park is padded, though it didn’t feel that way to Torii Hunter when he slammed into it in the fourth inning Monday night, a collision that bruised the Angels center fielder’s ribs and knocked him out of the game.

“That wall didn’t give -- it felt like getting hit by a Mike Tyson body blow in his prime,” Hunter said. “That wall is stout. All those years I’ve challenged the wall, and I’m 0-16 against those things. We have this rivalry going.”

Hunter was able to joke about the collision Tuesday because he came out of it a lot better than he thought he would. He was not in the lineup Tuesday night but said he could probably play in today’s series finale.

Manager Mike Scioscia will probably hold him out as a precaution, using Thursday’s off day to give Hunter three full days to heal before Friday night’s game against the Dodgers.

“I woke up feeling pretty good,” Hunter said. “But I know they don’t want me to rush it. I’ll plead my case. But I can go into Mike’s office, we can go back and forth and Mike will say, ‘Nope.’ ”

Passing grade

An MRI test on Ervin Santana’s elbow and forearm showed no abnormalities, a relief to the Angels and the right-hander who missed the first six weeks of the season because of an elbow ligament strain.

“I know I’m going to be OK,” said Santana, who was scratched from Tuesday night’s game because of tightness on the outside of his forearm. “They’re not going to do Tommy John [ligament replacement] surgery on the outside of my elbow, so I knew it was not a big problem.”

But could the elbow be a recurring problem, with injuries forcing Santana to be scratched from occasional starts and preventing him from regaining his All-Star form of 2008, when he was 16-7 with a 3.49 earned-run average?

“I don’t know,” said Santana, who is 1-3 with a 7.47 ERA in six starts this season and hopes to return for a June 23 game against Colorado. “I haven’t played catch yet, so I’m not sure how it will respond.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com