Injury Ends Kennedy’s Season

Vladimir Guerrero gets plunked on the batting helmet by a fastball and is back in the lineup the next day without so much as a headache. Adam Kennedy goes to field a ground ball, plants his right foot awkwardly and is out for the season.

That’s the way the breaks went for the Angels on Tuesday after an MRI exam revealed that Kennedy had suffered torn ligaments in his right knee Monday while trying to field Ichiro Suzuki’s fifth-inning grounder.

“This was a very awkward play he was trying to make, and his knee just buckled under the pressure,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Adam’s an integral part of what we’ve done to get into this race, and it’s a big loss.”

Kennedy said he heard a popping sound on the play but thought there was a chance he might be OK after walking off the field. Then the knee area tightened over the next few hours, and he left the Angel clubhouse on crutches.

The second baseman will be reevaluated in two weeks, once the swelling in the area subsides.

“It’s frustrating,” said Kennedy, who was hitting .278 with 10 home runs and 48 runs batted in, “but these guys will pick it up and be fine.”

Chone Figgins will be the second baseman for the remainder of the season, with Dallas McPherson getting a chance to become the regular third baseman. Alfredo Amezaga, Shane Halter, Adam Riggs and Figgins are also options at third base if McPherson’s defense falters.

Kennedy suffered the injury just when he was heating up at the plate, hitting .510 in his last 15 games at Angel Stadium and .407 in his last 25 games overall.

“I feel bad for him, especially considering how much he loves this game and how much he goes out there and competes,” shortstop David Eckstein said. “I know how bad he’s probably feeling right now.”

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Andres Galarraga relished the opportunity to make his first start since Oct. 3, with the San Francisco Giants, especially since he was facing Seattle’s Jamie Moyer, against whom he had batted .385 before Tuesday.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on myself,” said Galarraga, who is two homers short of 400. “I’m just going to let it happen, and I hope I hit a big one.”

Galarraga, who singled in his first two at-bats, started at first base in place of Darin Erstad, who is batting .194 this month and has recently been bothered by back spasms.

Erstad, expected back in the lineup today, had a .186 career average against Moyer.

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Seattle Manager Bob Melvin said there was no established protocol when it came to managers engaging players from opposing teams. Scioscia had yelled at Mariner pitcher Ryan Franklin on Monday after Franklin hit Guerrero with a pitch, leading to Scioscia’s ejection.

“What I pointed to Franklin about was, ‘Hey, if you’re going to pitch inside, you do it responsibly. You don’t throw behind the guy’s head.’ ” Scioscia said. “That’s what my frustration was.”

Said Melvin: “Certain guys handle things differently. The way I handle it is, I’m not going to yell at another player. He handled it a different way. That’s his prerogative.”

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Garret Anderson returned to center field after spending two games at designated hitter to allow tendinitis in his left knee to subside. Troy Glaus, who did not play in the previous two games, was the designated hitter.... Jose Guillen, who left after the seventh inning Monday because of a strained right hip, was back in the lineup.... Owner Arte Moreno said he would like to pare his team’s $111-million payroll to between $90 million and $100 million next season. The Angels will realize at least $12.5 million in savings because they will no longer have to pay pitcher Kevin Appier, whom they released in July 2003.

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Ichiro’s Quest

The progress of Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki in his pursuit of the single-season major league record for base hits, held by George Sisler:

* Suzuki on Tuesday: Five for five vs. Angels.

* Suzuki for the season: 243 hits, with 11 games remaining (on pace for 261 hits).

* Sisler’s record: 257 hits in 1920 for the St. Louis Browns.