Angels host Braves with all eyes on Trout MRI (May 29, 2017)
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels return home Monday to host the Atlanta Braves after a grueling 10-day road trip on the East Coast during which they lost six of 10 games.
And while the grind continues -- they won't have their next day off until June 5 -- any fatigue they might feel will pale in comparison to the worry those in the organization will experience as they wait for the results of one very important MRI exam.
Center fielder Mike Trout will have the test performed Monday on his left thumb, one day after injuring it on a head-first slide into second base on a steal attempt in the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins.
Trout stayed in the game for another inning before leaving to get X-rays, which were negative. However, the thought of a team one game under .500 losing arguably the league's best player cannot be pleasant for those close to the Angels (26-27).
"It's just sore," Trout said after the game. "It's a scary thing. The X-rays showed no fracture, so that's relieving. We'll come in (Monday) and see how it feels.
"Hopefully it's just sore, just a bad jam. ... I'm obviously bummed out. But if I wake up (Monday) and it feels a little better, then we'll see how it goes."
However it goes, Trout isn't likely to play against the Braves on Monday. He missed six games earlier this year with a sore left hamstring, meaning he has already sat out more contests this season than in any of the previous four campaigns.
Cameron Maybin likely will move over from left field to start in center for the Angels, who lost four of the six games they played without Trout in early May.
Pitching against a Trout-less Angels lineup certainly has to be a relief for Braves starter Julio Teheran, who has never faced Trout. He has never pitched against the Angels either, though he has faced some current Los Angeles players when they were playing for other teams.
Teheran (3-4, 4.88 ERA) hasn't been all that good in interleague games in his career, going 3-9 with a 5.63 ERA in 15 starts.
The Braves (21-27) won't feel any sympathy for the Angels, considering they lost their best hitter, Freddie Freeman, to a broken wrist on May 17. Atlanta has gone 5-6 since Freeman was hurt, and the club traded for Matt Adams to fill the hole at first base.
Adams, who came from the Cardinals in exchange for a minor-leaguer, is hitting .242 with two homers and four RBIs in eight games with the Braves.
Adams went 0-for-4 on Sunday as the Braves lost 7-1 to the Giants, who took two of three during the weekend series in San Francisco.
Making matters worse, the Braves lost second baseman Brandon Phillips in the fifth inning due to a right knee. Earlier in the game, Phillips fouled a ball off his knee.
"The (thing) hurt," Phillips told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It should be all right. Just hit it on top of the kneecap, but I'll be all right. ... It just started to stiffen up. Since the score was what it was, (they said) let's just be smart and try to get you ready for tomorrow."
Starting for the Angels on Monday will be Ricky Nolasco, who has faced the Braves plenty of times because he spent the majority of his career in the National League with the Marlins. In 24 games (23 starts) vs. Atlanta, Nolasco is 6-10 with a 5.11 ERA.
Nolasco struggled in his most recent outing, giving up five runs on seven hits in six innings during a loss at Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Teheran got a no-decision Wednesday when he yielded three runs, all unearned, in six innings as the Braves fell at Pittsburgh.
