Not much has gone wrong for the Los Angeles Angels lately, but injuries have a nasty way of changing that.
For the Halos, the concern is over rookie starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker, who helped the Angels clinch a playoff spot Monday night with a dominant effort against the Seattle Mariners but left after 96 pitches with a minor injury to his oblique.
MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez provided an update following an MRI Tuesday:
Manager Mike Scioscia, via USA Today‘s Jorge L. Ortiz, talked about the injury after Monday’s win:
We’re concerned when something like that happens to a pitcher. Sometimes it’s a cramp or a little stitch and these guys bounce right back, and sometimes there’s issues with an oblique that keep guys down for a long time. We don’t know what the range is right now.
Fortunately for the Angels, Shoemaker doesn’t sound concerned, via Gonzalez:
Still, it’s enough to keep him out of his next start, according to Scioscia, via the Los Angeles Times‘ Mike DiGiovanna:
The 27-year-old rookie has been tremendous this season, going 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 136.0 innings. More importantly, since the start of August—right around the time the Angels began pulling away in the West—he has been nearly untouchable, sporting a 1.66 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 10 appearances (h/t Baseball-Reference.com).
Scioscia, via MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer, and Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi noted Shoemaker’s importance to the Angels’ success:
With the Halos on the brink of wrapping up a division title, they should feel comfortable skipping his turn in the rotation as many times as necessary to ensure he’s completely healthy for a postseason run.
L.A. has one of the deepest pitching staffs in the majors, but with Garrett Richards already sidelined, a healthy Shoemaker will be crucial for a deep October run.
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