The Fourth of July was a day to forget for the Los Angeles Angels as three of their biggest stars were lost to injury. Prior to their matchup against the San Diego Padres, the team placed Mike Trout on the 10-day injured list with a left hamate fracture that will keep him out one to two months.
Later that afternoon, Anthony Rendon exited the game in the fourth inning with a left shin bruise after fouling a ball off his left leg. The veteran third baseman will likely join Trout on the IL.
Then to make matters worse, Shohei Ohtani was removed from his start against the Padres after throwing five innings due to a blister on his right middle finger. L.A. went on to lose, 8-5, and now has dropped six of their last seven games.
While the Angels announced Ohtani’s injury as a blister, the two-way star said his issues stemmed from the same cracked fingernail that caused him to be pushed back from his scheduled start on Monday, per Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group:
“It’s basically the same thing as last time,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “It wasn’t fully healed and it got worse as the game went on.”
Ohtani pitched with reduced velocity against the Padres as he averaged just 95.4 mph on his fastball, which was down from his season average of 97.1:
“It was hard for me to put full pressure on the finger because of the nail,” Ohtani said. “In some spots, I tried to let it eat and give full effort, but towards the end of the game I started to slow down.”
Ohtani also didn’t take his final at-bat as Jo Adell pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning. Ohtani isn’t sure if he will be in the lineup for the Angels’ final three games before the break but ruled out pitching in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game:
Ohtani said “we’ll see going forward” about hitting in the next three games…
“I have nine or 10 days till the next start so hopefully I can heal,” said Ohtani, who added that he is “planning on not pitching” in the All-Star Game next Tuesday in Seattle.
By not pitching in the Midsummer Classic, Ohtani will have maximum time to heal before his next scheduled start against the Houston Astros on July 14.
Shohei Ohtani ruled out Home Run Derby
Before his latest injury, Ohtani ruled out being a participant in the 2023 Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park. He previously competed in the event two years ago and was eliminated by Juan Soto.
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