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<!-- entry --> May 25, 2009
Hunter and Guerrero back in lineup; Kendrick is not
Center fielder Torii Hunter was back in the Angels lineup against the Chicago White Sox tonight, no worse for wear after a nasty collision with the Dodger Stadium wall on Sunday and an overnight trip back home to Arkansas for the funeral of his grandmother today.
Hunter didn't arrive at Angel Stadium until about 3:25 p.m., five minutes before the team was to take the field for batting practice, but he sent text messages to Manager Mike Scioscia and bench coach Ron Roenicke earlier in the day, saying that he felt good enough to play.
Hunter had the wind knocked out of him when he slammed face-first into the wall to make a spectacular catch of Matt Kemp's fourth-inning drive on Sunday. He remained in the game, knocking in three runs with a pair of singles in the Angels' 10-7 victory, but left in the seventh inning because of tightness in his right leg.
"I actually felt pretty good when I woke up today," Hunter said. "My main concern was that my family is all right. I've been sore before."
Hunter chartered a private jet to take him to his hometown of Pine Bluff, Ark., for the funeral of Zelma Louise Hunter, his 94-year-old paternal grandmother, who passed away last week.
Vladimir Guerrero, sidelined since April 16 because of a torn pectoral muscle, was also in tonight's lineup, batting third, in front of Hunter. Howie Kendrick, who was scratched from Sunday's lineup because of a cramp in his left hamstring, was not in tonight's lineup, but the second baseman said he should be OK to play Tuesday night.
To make room for Guerrero on the roster, the team optioned outfielder Reggie Willits to triple-A Salt Lake.
-- Mike DiGiovanna