Los Angeles Angels Pitcher Garrett Richards Placed on 10-day DL

For four innings Wednesday night Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richards looked very good and the Angels backed him with five runs.  With Richards one out away from qualifying for a win when he felt pain in his right elbow.

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels training staff came out to check on Richards and decided to pull him out of the game.  Richards was pitching in his first regular season game since last May 1st when he left after four innings do to arm fatigue.  Richards would later be told he had a torn UCL in his elbow, and he decided to try an experimental stem-cell platelet injection to help his UCL heal on it’s own in order to avoid Tommy John Surgery.

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So when Richards didn’t look right in the fifth inning against Oakland, Scioscia wasted no time pulling him out of the game as a precautionary measure.  According to Pedro Moura of the LA Times there is no damage in his Richard’s elbow in the area where he had hurt last season.  However, Moura said that a Friday morning MRI showed that he had nerve irritation in his right bicep and Richards was placed on the 10-day DL.

The Angels and Richards breathed a sigh of relief when they were told there was no structural damage.  Richards will be eligible to come off the DL on April 15th.  Luckily for the Angels Richards should be back around the middle of the month.

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The Angels will not need another starter until April 15th.  Hopefully Richards will be able to bounce back quickly and the Angels will not have to use a fifth starter until April 15th.

If Richards is out longer expect either Bud Norris or Yusmeiro Petit to take his temporary spot in the rotation.  Both are in the Angels bullpen after having strong Spring’s to make the Angels Opening Day rosters. Norris had a 1-1 record with a 2.51 ERA in 13.1 innings of work for the Angels in Spring Training. Petit was even better going 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA in 14 innings of work.  Petit had 13 strikeouts and Norris had 18 strikeouts.

Next: Angels shutout down Oakland Richards hurt

The Angels are hoping Richards will be only out for a short time as he is looked on as the staff ace when he is healthy.  Stay tuned to Halo Hangout as we will continue to update Richards progress over the next few weeks until he returns to the team.