SAN FRANCISCO — Randy Johnson believes he will pitch again this season for the Giants, albeit as a reliever.
The 45-year-old is on the 60-day disabled list and has been sidelined since July 6 with a strained left shoulder. He said pitching more than five innings and being effective would be tough at this stage.
“Starting is out for me now, because I’ve been out for two months,” Johnson said Sunday. “When this happened, I was really discouraged. I’m late in my career, not early. It’s not something I envisioned. It would be nice to come back in some capacity and help the team. Right now I’m just trying to get healthy.”
He was examined Sunday morning by team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki, and the club hopes Johnson will be able to throw off the mound by later in the week.
Hampton facing surgeries.
Oft-injured lefty Mike Hampton won’t pitch again for the Astros this season and is planning to have surgery on his pitching shoulder and both knees. Hampton is 7-10 with a 5.30 ERA in 21 starts this season, his most since 2004. He missed the 2006 and 2007 seasons after separate elbow surgeries.
Footnotes.
The Dodgers added to their infield depth, getting Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals for a minor-leaguer (Single-A pitcher Luis Garcia) and a player to be named. The 34-year-old Belliard batted .246 with five homers and 22 RBIs for Washington.
• Red Sox right-hander Tim Wakefield expects to get a cortisone shot today after his next scheduled start was scratched because his balky back acted up.
• Catcher Jorge Posada returned to the Yankees’ lineup after missing three games with a sore finger.
