ANGELS NOTEBOOK: TENDINITIS FORCES DISARCINA BACK TO SOCAL FOR TREATMENT.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

TEMPE, Ariz. - The Angels survived their first major scare of the spring Friday when X-rays of second baseman Adam Kennedy's right hand were negative, but the news was not so good for shortstop Gary DiSarcina.

Kennedy was hit by a pitch thrown by the A's Mark Guthrie on Thursday, but the club waited until Friday to have the X-rays taken. Though his hand is sore and swollen, Kennedy said he expects to be back in the lineup in a couple of days.

DiSarcina, recovering from rotator-cuff surgery on his right shoulder, has ceased all baseball-related activities and has returned to Southern California for treatment after being diagnosed with tendinitis.

Even though his throwing was limited, DiSarcina had been taking batting practice and was fielding grounders daily. Now, the rehabilitation will proceed at a slower pace and aim to increase strength in the shoulder. However, manager Mike Scioscia downplayed the setback and said the club still targets May for DiSarcina's return.

``There are a lot of phases when you go through rehab,'' Scioscia said. ``You keep pushing and testing your strength to see where you are, and then you hit a plateau like this. It's normal progression to hit little tweaks like this. He was already ahead of schedule, so I don't think this is a situation that's going to push him back a lot.''

Wilmy Caceres and Benji Gil are vying for the starting job in DiSarcina's absence. Caceres, 22, has already shown major-league defensive skills but must improve his hitting.

--Washburn hit hard: Pitcher Jarrod Washburn gave up two runs and eight hits in three innings in the Angels' 8-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners Friday afternoon at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Washburn escaped further damage in the third inning when the Angels threw out Al Martin trying to score from first on a double by John Olerud. Washburn also got a key double play in the first inning to get out of a potentially big inning. He said he focused Friday on working on his changeup.

``It's my No. 2 pitch because I don't throw my breaking ball that effectively,'' Washburn said. ``So I need that to be successful.''

--No Suzuki for you: The Mariners did not send Ichiro Suzuki to Tempe for Friday's game against the Angels. The Mariners have not yet sent Suzuki on the road for a Cactus League game because of the crush of Japanese media members that follow him wherever he goes. There are an estimated 200 members of the Japanese media in Arizona following Suzuki, and his Mariners teammate, reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki.

--Vaughn update: First baseman Mo Vaughn is in Southern California for rehab on his surgically repaired left arm. Vaughn, who is out for the season, had a procedure last week to clean out the incision after three interior sutures worked their way to the surface of the skin.

--Games: The Angels will play split-squad games today. In Tempe, Pat Rapp will start against Arizona's Curt Schilling (12:05 p.m., 570-AM, 1090-AM). In Phoenix, Elvin Nina will start against Oakland's Barry Zito, who pitched at USC and Pierce College.