Glaus Moves to Short; Hollins Injured

With Gary DiSarcina’s left forearm in a cast, the Angels decided to give Troy Glaus--the former UCLA All-American shortstop turned professional third baseman--some playing time at short against the Padres on Sunday in Peoria, Ariz.

But the already unsettled left side of the Angel infield became less stable back at Tempe Diablo Stadium when Dave Hollins, who is battling Glaus for the starting third base job, pulled up lame rounding second base in the first inning of a split-squad game against the Giants and left because of a tight left hamstring.

“It’s just sore,” Hollins said. “It’ll probably be a couple of days.”

Hollins, who was bothered by tightness in the same hamstring earlier this spring, was complaining about how soft the infield was before the game. “I don’t remember it being this soft last year,” he said.

Glaus had no trouble with the infield in Peoria, handling four routine grounders cleanly at shortstop during the Angels’ 6-4 loss to San Diego.

“I felt all right out there,” he said. “I took a few ground balls warming up just to remember what it’s like.”

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Todd Greene will test his surgically repaired right shoulder behind the plate for the first time Tuesday against the White Sox. He’s scheduled to catch three innings.

“To be dead serious, I’m just hoping he gets out of next Tuesday,” Manager Terry Collins said. “If they get some guys on base, they might just say, ‘Let’s see if we can blow this guy’s arm out.’ ”

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First baseman Mo Vaughn, who missed two games a week ago because of sore hamstrings, was a late scratch Sunday because of tightness in his right hamstring. “He was tight all morning,” Collins said. “He didn’t even get on the field. With [today] an off day, we decided to give him an extra day.” . . . No. 4 starter Steve Sparks gave up four hits and one earned run in five innings of the loss to the Padres; Jason Dickson, battling for the No. 5 spot with Omar Olivares and Jarrod Washburn, was smacked around for seven hits and four runs in two-plus innings by the Giants. “I’m a little concerned,” Collins said of Dickson’s performance. “I know what this guy can do when he keeps the ball down, but he just had too many balls up in the zone.”. . . . The Angels returned five players to minor league camp Sunday and released pitcher Reid Cornelius. Reassigned were pitchers Scott Brow, Kevin Lomon and Paul Menhart, infielder Chuck Abbott and catcher Ben Molina.