GOOD AND BAD NEWS FOR ANGELS GUERRERO MRI POSITIVE, BUT OFFENSE IS HURTING CHICAGO 2, ANGELS 1.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - In theory, Vladimir Guerrero and the Angels received good news Tuesday. An MRI performed on his left shoulder confirmed he has a partial dislocation, which means surgery probably won't be necessary and his absence, manager Mike Scioscia noted, ``doesn't look like a one- or two-month ordeal.''

But the reality remains that Guerrero is battling back from a very tender injury, has several obstacles to climb in his rehabilitation and, until he returns, the Angels' lineup figures to remain a rather anemic bunch.

Minus the AL Most Valuable Player, the Angels and their American League-worst .300 on-base percentage were quieted by Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who held them to four hits in nine innings and worked out of a tight ninth-inning jam to set the stage for Chicago's 2-1, 11-inning victory.

Tadahito Iguchi's RBI double off Esteban Yan drove in the winning run and undid 10 innings of stellar pitching by Bartolo Colon, Brendan Donnelly and Scot Shields. A Guerrero-less offense made the downfall inevitable.

Tuesday's lineup featured .236-hitting shortstop Orlando Cabrera in Guerrero's No. 3 spot, and Buehrle, the Sox's incredibly steady lefty, coasted through it. He gave up Garret Anderson's RBI double in the fourth inning but was rarely challenged, throwing 104 pitches in eight innings, and just six to retire the side in the eighth.

The Angels, of course, could have used Guerrero, but for now their right fielder will be restricted to throwing and conditioning work.

The MRI revealed a slight nick in Guerrero's labrum, possibly because of normal wear and tear. His shoulder is tender enough that when he plays catch, someone must catch the ball and flip it to him before he throws, like a backup quarterback warming up on the sidelines.

The concern for reinjury is such that it will be a week to 10 days before Guerrero can run full-speed, so as not to risk a spill.

Although Guerrero expressed confidence he'll be ready to go when eligible for activation June 5, he acknowledged he won't know how limited he'll be until he begins baseball- related activities.

``We're confident it will happen in a reasonable amount of time, but it is impossible to know until he gets into this,'' Scioscia said. ``We won't know until he starts to swing, responds to running, reaches up to catch a flyball. There's a lot of things he has to work through.''

And whether he hits the ground 100 percent is unknown, too.

``I'm not playing right now, so I can't answer that,'' Guerrero said through an interpreter. ``Once I get to play, I'll be able to answer that question.''

Until then, the heavy lifting by the Angels' pitchers could go unrewarded. On Tuesday, Colon produced the latest in a long line of gems, throwing seven innings of three-hit ball, walking none, striking out six and giving up just a full-count, solo homer to Carl Everett in the second.

For the 18th time in 25 games, an Angels starter worked into the seventh inning. And for his efforts, Colon left the game in a 1-1 tie.

After Brendan Donnelly pitched a scoreless eighth inning, the reliable Scot Shields nearly threw it away in the top of the ninth, issuing a leadoff walk to Scott Podsednik and committing a throwing error that got Podsednik to third with one out. But Aaron Rowand grounded to Cabrera at short and Podsednik was cut down at third.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 4 boxes

Photo:

Chicago's Carl Everett celebrates his home run off Angels pitcher Bartolo Colon in the first inning Tuesday night.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Box:

(1) ANGELS vs. CHI. WHITE SOX

- Gabe Lacques

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC