Despite Injury, Angels' Patrick Sandoval Showed His Determination To Win On Mound

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jun 23, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Angels starting pitching Patrick Sandoval felt something in his pitching arm in the top of the third inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. He began to feel something in the middle of Shohei Ohtani's at-bat but remained in the game finishing the at-bat before signaling for a trainer.

After ball four was called, he emphatically motioned to the dugout and walked off the mound moments later. He tried to lead the Angels to victory despite the injury throwing 2.1 scoreless innings.

“Really painful,” Sandoval said of the feeling after the game. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”

#Angels Patrick Sandoval in obvious discomfort after this pitch. Left with an apparent arm injury. pic.twitter.com/hizfOQwzO3

— Mike Kurland (@Mike_Kurland) June 22, 2024

“[Feeling] not the best, I’ll do some tests in the morning and see what we’ve got,” Sandoval said. “It was really painful. It was something I’ve never really felt before, so that was pretty scary. I’ve felt normal aches and bruises, but nothing like that.”

The 27-year-old was the Opening Day starter this season and looked to be a long-term rotation answer after he had a 3.17 ERA in 2021 and 2022. He also represented Team Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

He is heading to the injured list.

However, his injury leaves the Angels with two healthy starters — left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-hander Griffin Canning. If he heads to the injured list, the Angels are forced to fill two starting rotation spots. They have yet to call up someone to replace Reid Detmers who was sent to Triple-A.