ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SANTANA FEELING BETTER.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA Staff Writer

NEW YORK -- New York is not the best city to navigate when walking is a chore, but Ervin Santana managed just fine Friday.

He walked to lunch and made it to the bus that took him to Yankee Stadium, all with a dull pain in his left knee. The good news is that Santana felt better than he thought after getting drilled in the knee by a line drive Thursday against the Cleveland Indians.

After Thursday's game, Santana was confident he would make his next scheduled start Tuesday at Texas, and he reiterated that before Friday's game.

``I think I'm going to pitch on Tuesday,'' he said. ``I'll be ready for it.''

Angels manager Mike Scioscia made Santana leave the game, even though the right-hander wanted to continue pitching.

``He feels much better,'' Scioscia said. ``Considering where it hit him, it looks like we're fortunate, and hopefully he can make his next start on Tuesday.''

There was some additional swelling Friday and the raised impression of the stitches of the baseball on the inside of his knee. After an X-ray that was negative Thursday night, no additional tests are planned.

Santana will get daily treatment and wear a compression sleeve over the injury to aid with swelling. He plans on throwing at least a light bullpen session Sunday.

``If he feels good enough, we'd like to let him throw a little bit,''Scioscia said. ``But the first thing is that if he's healthy he should be able to get out there and get after it.''

Napoli's slide continues: As Mike Napoli's offensive slide continues, so does his tumble down the Angels lineup. Napoli was in the No. 9 spot in the order for his second consecutive start. He entered Friday with three hits in his last 41 at-bats, all singles.

Friday, Napoli ended up with a seventh-inning double, his first extra- base hit since July 15.

Erstad's progression continues: Darin Erstad continues to make progress on his injured right ankle, as he did some light running. He also continues to get into a groove defensively at first base, saying he doesn't feel too bad on the infield.

Since getting a more accurate diagnosis on his injury during the last homestand, Erstad has received two more cortisone injections in the area, and they have calmed the irritation.

Erstad added that he still is taking things day to day and has no target date for a return to action.