Los Angeles Angels

The Angels rotation has been sidetracked by an injury to its ace,

Garrett Richards, and a series of ineffective outings.

“You’re not going to finish well if that’s going to be the rule of how they’re going to pitch,” manager

Mike Scioscia said. “These guys are going to pitch better. We know that.”

Before Tyler Skaggs pitched seven scoreless innings Sunday to lower his ERA to 5.19, the best mark among the starters was

Ricky Nolasco’s 5.40. Alex Meyer, a 6-9 right-hander who’s one of the Angels’ top prospects, could be summoned from Class AAA Salt Lake (Salt Lake City). Wood surrendered five runs in his first two starts while striking out 13.

It’s not clear when Richards (biceps) will begin throwing again. The team also checked on nerve issues that might have been causing the pain, but those concerns were unfounded. Richards missed most of last season because of an elbow injury.

The Angels hope Andrew Bailey (shoulder) can return soon from the disabled list. Bailey, 32, looked shaky in spring training but was 2-0 and didn’t allow a run in three one-inning appearances at the start of the season.

After not playing first base during spring training or in the season’s opening weeks, Albert

Pujols saw time there in a recent series with the A’s. Scioscia is reluctant to put Pujols in the field while he rebounds from offseason foot surgery.