The Los Angeles Angels saw starter Grayson Rodriguez depart early with an apparent injury, with an update coming.
The Los Angeles Angels had their four-game winning streak snapped yesterday, and they also had a tough day on the injury front. Starter Grayson Rodriguez went out in the third inning when he pulled up on a pitch, then left the game with what was described as “back tightness,” according to an update from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
Outfielder Wade Meckler also left the game due to a separate injury as he ran into the wall while chasing what became a home run shortly after the starter departed.
Rodriguez will now be evaluated, and manager Kurt Suzuki is hoping for the best.
“Once Grayson gets evaluated, we’ll know more,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Meckler was just precautionary.”
The starter’s injury history is extensive, so this is cause for concern. His velocity dropped significantly on the pitch to Tampa Bay Rays hitter Cedric Mullins, but before that he was over 97 mph at times.
“I'm doing all right,” Rodriguez said. “The second-to-last pitch my back tightened up on me pretty good there. I didn't plan on coming out of the game. So right now just trying to deal with it. Not too concerning right now but obviously I'm concerned because I came out of the game for it. It's just going to be something that we're going to have to manage over the next couple days.”
His early exit forced the Angels into an unexpected bullpen game, and as a result relievers Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman both struggled. They’re usually reliable, but it was a tough day all around as the Angels saw their brief winning streak come to an end.
“It's frustrating anytime you have to come out of a game, especially when you're on IL as long as I was,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I'm getting close, like my stuff's getting a lot better. I had runners on there in the third inning, but if I can stay in there, I like to think I'm one ground ball away from getting out of that with a double play.”
Meckler’s injury was completely different. He was trying to chase down a home run by Ben Williamson off reliever Drew Pomeranz, and he seemed to forget there was a wall in left field along with a warning track designed to prevent exactly what happened as he ran smack into the unforgiving fence.
“Got my bell rung a little bit,” Meckler said. “I’m fine. It was just precautionary after hitting my head.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Angels also placed Rodriguez on the IL as a precautionary move, as there’s no reason to rush him back. Bollinger mentioned pitcher Caden Dana as the primary candidate to be called up from Triple-A Salt Lake if that happens.
