Angels.mlb.com
ANAHEIM -- Fractures to the middle and index fingers of his left hand -- and the accompanying pair of disabled list designations that followed -- robbed Howie Kendrick of regular assignment at his native second base.

But the budding young talent, recalled from rehab stints at Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Salt Lake, rejoined his Angels teammates for the start of a three-game set against the visiting Yankees on Monday after a six-week absence.

His digits restored, Kendrick can now beckon opposing pitchers with a swift flick of the once-injured twosome in a declaration of challenge: Bring it.

Prior to his most recent bout with the hazard-prone hand, Kendrick had hit safely in 22 of 26 games, batting .349 and scoring 25 runs over that span while raising his cumulative average 61 points from .236 to .297.

In seven rehab games during his latest tour of the farm system, Kendrick batted .276 with one RBI.

"Howie's ready to go," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's back to where he was before. There's going to be a little adjustment. There always is coming into the Major Leagues, but he's been great as far as his finger. He's running well, he's playing good defense and he's ready."

Some of the adjustments Scioscia alluded to include having Kendrick reacquaint himself with the "Major League environment" -- fireballing hurlers and all -- and "getting acclimated with [Casey] Kotchman and [Orlando] Cabrera," his infield peers manning the posts at first base and shortstop, respectively.

But Kendrick is no more worried about the inherent difficulty associated with his reinsertion into the Major League system than he is about the prospect of injuring a third finger on his much-maligned left hand. Mainly because it's -- pardon the pun -- out of his hands.

"I don't think about it," Kendrick said of a possible reinjury. "I can't worry about what happened back then. I've just got to come back in and try to continue to pick up where I left off. I think if I just play hard and do what I need to do out there -- make the routine plays and try to put together good at-bats -- I think I'll be all right."

Kendrick maintained that he feels "great" and is excited to be back on the diamond. The customary media frenzy elicited by the Yankees' Anaheim arrival -- especially given Los Angeles' stance as the only club to hold a winning record (59-54) over the Bronx Bombers during manager Joe Torre's reign in New York -- adds no significance to Kendrick's return to the starting lineup.

"I think I'd have been happy without regard to who was coming back in town," Kendrick said. "The biggest thing was being back on the field and playing. That's the ultimate goal, to be out there every day, playing every day, and trying to win every day, regardless of which team it is.

"Obviously, the intensity is a little higher when you're playing the Yankees. It's more like a playoff atmosphere, but I'm just going to try to go out here and do it every day, like I was doing it before."

Media relations: With Ervin Santana's Friday performance against the Red Sox evoking fond memories of the young hurler who won 16 games in 2006, once-dormant issues that plagued all Santana-related discussions have returned to the forefront.

Before his four-hit, one-run effort in 6 1/3 innings to help secure a 7-5 win over the Sox in the nightcap of a doubleheader, Santana had gone winless in seven of his last nine starts. The coy 24-year-old, visibly shaken after each of his erratic outings and facing certain demotion to Triple-A Salt Lake, grew increasingly weary around the probing of inquiring reporters.

Although the tension between Santana and the Los Angeles stable of tape-recorder jockeys has cooled considerably, the blossoming right-hander retains some of that aversion.

"In Ervin's case, he's a sensitive kid," Scioscia said. "I think that's a trait you need to acquire if you're going to be in the Major Leagues for a long time. There's a huge level of interest in what Major League players do on the field and how they perform. You have to be able to talk about that.

"I think as Ervin gets maybe his confidence back, and he's more settled and very fluent in English, hopefully he'll feel more comfortable expressing himself."

This date in Angels history: On Aug. 20, 1974, Nolan Ryan fanned 19 batters in 11 innings during a 1-0 loss to the Tigers, tying his own club record for most strikeouts in an extra-inning game.

A 3-2 pitch clocked in the ninth inning at 100.9 mph was the fastest recorded toss to date.

Minor League monsters: Orem Owlz second baseman Jerry Gonzalez-Lopez anchored a 19-hit assault with a three-run homer and scored five runs in a 22-5 thrashing of the Missoula Osprey on Sunday.

Left fielder Jeremy Moore added a triple and knocked in four runs, while catcher Anel De Los Santos went yard and matched Moore with four RBIs of his own.

On deck: Kelvim Escobar (13-6, 2.68 ERA) will look to repeat an impressive May 26 outing at Yankee Stadium -- he allowed one run on five hits through seven in a 3-1 win -- when he shares the mound with New York's Mike Mussina (8-8, 4.76 ERA) on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. PT.