Los Angeles Angels place ace Jered Weaver on DL with lower-back injury

ANAHEIM -- The Los Angeles Angels placed ace Jered Weaver on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a lower-back injury.

Weaver said he's hopeful he can return shortly after he's eligible to return on June 12. It is Weaver's second trip to the DL. He missed three weeks at the start of the 2007 season recovering from right biceps tendinitis.

"It's always disappointing knowing you're not going to be out there pitching two or three times," Weaver said. "I'm a competitor when I get out there, but I'm going to work my butt off in between here to do whatever it takes to get back on that mound."

The Angels recalled 24-year old Garrett Richards to take Weaver's spot in the rotation. Richards said he was informed Monday night that he was headed to Anaheim.

Weaver injured himself delivering a pitch, his 12th of the game, to Robinson Cano on Monday night. Hours after he left the field, he was still in considerable pain despite being on muscle relaxers.

Earlier Tuesday, the Angels announced Weaver was being put on the disabled list before sending a second email asking reporters to "disregard the previous email."

In the original announcement, the team said it had recalled Richards from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill Weaver's spot in the rotation. Later, a team spokesman, Ryan Cavinder, sent an email saying, "Jered Weaver has not officially been placed on the disabled list."

Weaver is 6-1 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 starts. He started the 2011 All-Star Game for the American League and finished second in Cy Young balloting to Justin Verlander last November. The Angels, thanks largely to stellar starting pitching, have won seven consecutive games, their best streak in three years.

Richards, 24, was 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in seven games for the Angels last season. He narrowly lost out to Jerome Williams in spring training to earn the team's No. 5 spot in the rotation. He was 5-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A, having given up four runs or more in four of his last six starts.

The Angels also reinstated outfielder Torii Hunter from the restricted list and Hunter was in the lineup in right field Tuesday night. The team optioned Andrew Romine to Salt Lake. Hunter missed a little over two weeks while he dealt with sexual-assault charges in Texas against his 17-year-old son, Darius.