Angels starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval grimaces in pain after an arm injury during the third inning of their game against the Dodgers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Sandoval then exited the game with what was initially diagnosed as stiffness in his left forearm. (KeynoteUSA Photo/Ashley Landis)
LOS ANGELES – Angels pitcher Patrick Sandoval now has a more serious concern than his struggle to rediscover his success on the mound.
Sandoval emerged from his start against the Dodgers on Friday night with what was initially diagnosed as tightness in his left forearm.
“It’s something I’ve never felt before,” Sandoval said after the game. “It’s pretty scary.”
Sandoval said he will undergo an MRI on Saturday, but in the meantime he had trouble maintaining an upbeat tone.
“My spirits are pretty low right now because it’s pretty cool, but we’ll see,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval said he started to feel something during his third-inning at-bat against Shohei Ohtani, his former teammate, but stayed in the game.
“I felt it in the middle of the at-bat, but I tried to get over it because I wanted to strike him out,” Sandoval said.
After the fourth ball of the final pitch was called, Sandoval gestured emphatically toward the dugout. He was greeted by athletic trainer Matt Biancuzzo, manager Ron Washington and pitching coach Barry Enright. Sandoval left the mound a few minutes later.
“Really painful,” Sandoval said of the sensation. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”
Further testing will reveal the significance of the injury which adds another frustrating chapter to his disappointing two-season run. Sandoval now has a 5.08 ERA, following his 4.11 mark last season.
Sandoval, 27, a product of Mission Viejo High, appeared to be a long-term rotation answer after posting a 3.17 ERA in 2021 and 2022. He was a member of Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in 2023.
Now, it’s another question mark in a rotation that has been reduced to just two healthy pitchers since the start of the season: left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-hander Griffin Canning.
Right-hander Zach Plesac was recently called up and immediately filled the spot left vacant when right-hander José Soriano went on the injured list.
Assuming Sandoval goes on the disabled list, the Angels would have two holes in their rotation. They never called up a starter to replace Reid Detmers after he was optioned to Triple-A.
With Plesac scheduled to pitch Saturday and a day off Sunday, the Angels could use Canning and Anderson for Monday and Tuesday’s games against the Oakland Athletics. They would need pitchers for Wednesday and Friday.
Soriano, who is out with an abdominal infection, is expected to return as soon as he is eligible, on July 2.
To fill the other hole in the rotation, the Angels could bring back Detmers. After allowing seven runs in his first Triple-A start, he has allowed two runs in 13 innings over his last two.
Right-hander Chase Silseth, who has been rehabbing elbow inflammation, has also pitched three times in Triple-A. He allowed five runs on Friday, raising his ERA to 10.22 in Salt Lake.
In the meantime, the Angels will wait to find out how serious Sandoval’s injury is.
“There’s always concern when you talk about a pitcher and his arm,” Washington said. “We just have to wait and see where it goes from there.”
Keynote USA
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