Wunsch’s Season Comes to an End

HOUSTON —  Ken Griffey Jr., Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, Brian Giles, Jim Edmonds and Todd Helton can rest easier today.

Kelly Wunsch will have surgery on his right ankle next week and sit out the rest of the season.

The sidearm-slinging left-handed reliever made at-bats miserable for left-handed hitters, who were batting .194 against him. He ranks third in the majors with 45 appearances.

But he suffered the strangest injury in a strangely injury-filled Dodger season, rolling the ankle throwing a pitch in the bullpen Thursday at Colorado. Team medical personnel determined that the ligament that holds the tendon in place dislodged, causing the tendon to slide over a bone.

“He has done a terrific job and it is a substantial loss,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “He came in during spring training and fulfilled the role we laid out for him.”

There are no left-handers in the Dodger bullpen. Wilson Alvarez will make a second triple-A rehabilitation appearance today and is expected to be activated after the All-Star break.

However, Alvarez, 35, is not as resilient as Wunsch.

“I have to be careful with Wilson,” Tracy said. “There may be days I can’t use him.”

The unfailingly pleasant and cerebral Wunsch also will be missed in the clubhouse. He spent his free time working crossword puzzles and reading novels, plowing through “The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold, “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini and “The Historian,” by Elizabeth Kostova in recent weeks.

“I hope I made a good enough impression to warrant the Dodgers sticking with me,” Wunsch said. “I’m hopeful I can start out here next spring with no problems.”

*

It was a strange sight for anyone familiar with Jeff Kent’s frosty demeanor. One after another, Astro players gave him warm hugs before the game. Kent was their teammate in 2003 and 2004, and helped the Astros get to the brink of the World Series last season.

“That was more of an inside joke than anything because I never gave anyone hugs when I was here,” he said. “But that shows how much those guys care about what I do and how much I still care about them. That was pretty cool.”

*

Right-hander Brad Penny is available to pitch in relief either today or Sunday, Tracy said.

Penny threw 109 pitches in 6 2/3 innings Wednesday at Colorado and is not scheduled start again until after the All-Star break.

“You could see him come in to pitch the seventh, or even the sixth and seventh if we need a bridge to get to the back of the bullpen,” Tracy said.

*

Kent and Cesar Izturis aren’t the only Dodgers headed to Detroit for All-Star festivities.

Thanks to a new format in the home run contest, Hee-Seop Choi will participate. Eight players will represent eight nations and Choi will swing on behalf of South Korea.

Choi has 13 home runs but has not hit one since June 14 when he capped a four-game, seven-homer spree with a homer against the Kansas City Royals.