LA Angels have multiple players doing rehab assignments in Inland Empire

The LA Angels have been riddled by injuries all season and they are finally close to getting some of these players back.  Garrett Richards and Jefry Marte played in their first games in almost a month Friday.

On Friday night in San Bernardino the LA Angels had pitcher Garrett Richards on the mound for the Inland Empire 66’ers and Jefry Marte was batting second playing first base. The 66’ers were facing the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (LA Dodgers Affiliate).

Richards looked good in the first two innings allowing two singles but no runs and he also struck out two batters.  In the third inning Richards allowed a solo homer to Rylan Bannon to tie the game at one and he also added another strike out.  So far so good for Richards 46 pitches with 32 strikes and only 14 balls through three innings. The 66’ers gave him the lead back with a single run on a single by Brandon Marsh and a Connor Justus double.

Unfortunately the fourth inning was not so kind for Richards. The Quakes put together four hits including a three-run homer by Hamlet Marte to give Rancho Cucamonga a 5-2 lead and knock Richards from the game.  Richards final line for the evening was 3.1 innings pitched allowing seven hits and five earned runs with no walks and four strikeouts.  Richards thre 63 pitches with 42 of them being strikes.

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It is not known yet if Richards will do another rehab start or come back straight to the Angels when they return to Anaheim next weekend.  While it wasn’t his best outing by far, but Richards still can take away some positives which was mostly in the first three innings and also he did not walk a batter in the game.

The Angels might want to see Richards get up to at least 80 pitches before returning to the majors. Richards could pitch next Wednesday or Thursday in Seattle or do another rehab start for an Angel affiliate. We will have to wait and see.

On the other side Jefry Marte got three at-bats in the game and did not record a hit in his first rehab start for the 66’ers. Marte struck out twice, reached on an error, and walked in four plate appearances.  Marte will most likely do at least one more rehab start this weekend.

With Shohei Ohtani on the verge of returning, as well as Richards and Marte being close too maybe the Angels can start turning things around.  Reliever Jim Johnson is throwing again, but it is not known yet if he will need a rehab assignment.  Nick Tropeano however is still undergoing therapy for his ailing right shoulder and no timetable for his return.

Next: Injuries keep mounting for Angels

The Angels can make some headway if they can win the next two games against lowly Baltimore and then play well in Seattle next week in a three-game series.  We will have to wait and see what happens.  For now let’s enjoy some good news with Richards, Ohtani, and Marte close to returning. The Angels definitely need some good news since most has been bad as of late.