SAN DIEGO — The Angels turned to Shohei Ohtani to deliver them a victory on a day that they faced the reality of being without Mike Trout for at least a month.
Not only did Ohtani struggle while dealing with a blister in the Angels’ 8-5 loss to the Padres, but they suffered another injury.
Third baseman Anthony Rendon is likely headed for his third stint on the injured list in the past two months, after he fouled a ball off his left shin. He was diagnosed with a contusion after undergoing X-rays.
Rendon walked out of the clubhouse with crutches, as he barely put any weight on his left foot.
“It’s almost comical,” Rendon said. “It’s just frustrating. I don’t know what to do. I’m lost.”
As for Ohtani, he came out of the game in the sixth inning after allowing five runs. The Angels then announced that he had a blister on his right middle finger. Ohtani was pitching with an extra day of rest because he had a cracked nail that affected him toward the end of his previous start.
“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 said “we’ll see going forward” about hitting in the next three games. The next time he would need to pitch is his first start after the All-Star break.
“I have 9 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.
Ohtani’s velocity was down throughout the afternoon, and his final pitch was a 92 mph fastball that Jake Cronenworth hit over the fence in right-center. Ohtani averaged 95.4 mph with 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.”
The Angels turned double plays to help Ohtani escape jams in the second and third, and catcher Chad Wallach threw out a runner stealing in the fifth. Ohtani gave up a two-run double to Cronenworth in the fourth and then a two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts in the sixth.
The Angels have now lost 10 of their last 14 games, falling to four games out in the wild card race and seven games out in the American League West.
Trout is going to be out until sometime in August, at best, after fracturing the hamate in his left hand on Monday night. He and Rendon join shortstop Zach Neto, second baseman Brandon Drury, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and infielder Gio Urshela among the Angels’ currently injured everyday players. Urshela is out for the season.
Although general manager Perry Minasian has indicated that the Angels won’t trade Ohtani before the Aug. 1 deadline because they want to push for the playoffs this year and try to re-sign him in the winter, the former is looking more difficult with each loss.
On Tuesday their short-handed lineup produced only Hunter Renfroe’s solo homer through the first eight innings, before they rallied to put a scare into the Padres in the ninth.
The Angels scored four runs, including one on a Jo Adell triple, and had the bases loaded, with the potential tying run at first. Padres closer Josh Hader got Taylor Ward on a groundout to end it.
“Definitely in a tough spot with all the injuries, but all the guys are playing are trying their best,” Ohtani said. “All we can do right now is try to win one ballgame at a time.”
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