Baltimore Orioles Star Leaves Road Trip After Suffering Concerning Injury

There is some real concern surrounding the injury that one of the Baltimore Orioles stars suffered as he has now left the road trip.

Jul 2, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) walks to the dugout following the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Things didn't quite go as planned for the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Scheduled starter Grayson Rodriguez was scratched right before their important divisional matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays, causing them to start Albert Suarez in place of their young star.

This decision was surprising since Rodriguez had taken the field to warm up before cutting things short.

According to Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun, the starter walked over to pitching coach Drew French "approximately 20 minutes" before he was set to pitch. He reported that the broadcast cameras caught Rodriguez appearing to tell French, "I don't feel right." He then departed to the clubhouse and was scratched from the start.

The Orioles ended up losing 5-2.

After the injury designation wasn't initially disclosed, there now seems to be real concern.

Weyrich later reported that the team is calling it an "injured lat," and Rodriguez is returning home to Baltimore so he can undergo further evaluation and get imaging done to see if there is any severe damage.

It goes without saying this would be a huge blow for the Orioles if he has to miss extended time.

Baltimore has already dealt with a plethora of injuries to their rotation this year as three starters have already undergone season-ending surgeries that forced the front office to bring in Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers at the trade deadline.

Rodriguez firmly cemented himself as the No. 2 option behind AL Cy Young contender Corbin Burnes as he had posted a 3.86 ERA across his 20 starts with 130 strikeouts in 116.2 innings pitched.

Hopefully the tests and imaging reveal that nothing is structurally wrong so he can make his return at a later date this year.

The Orioles have five more games on this road trip, all against divisional opponents, as they now find themselves trailing the New York Yankees by a half-game in the AL East standings.