The Athletics suffered a bit of a scare today as surprise staff ace Rich Hill left his outing early. It’s being diagnosed as only a “real mild groin strain,” though, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area reports (Twitter links). Hill himself suggested that he doesn’t expect to miss a start, let alone require a DL placement, though obviously that’ll depend upon how the injury progresses. Oakland will obviously hope that Hill can keep up his impressive start to the year — a 2.25 ERA through 11 starts, with more strikeouts than hits and walks allowed — in order to help keep the club alive in the AL West or otherwise turn into a prime trade chip.
Here are some more health-related matters of note around the game:
- Dodgers lefty Hyun-jin Ryu needs to skip at least one start after experiencing shoulder soreness, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Manager Dave Roberts says that he’s not yet sure what to expect in terms of Ryu’s timeline, in a video tweeted by J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group. “We were kind of thinking middle of June,” Roberts said of Ryu’s anticipated return to the majors. “With this little setback, it pushes that back.”
- Fellow Dodgers starter Brandon McCarthy is still making positive strides in his own rehab, as Hoornstra further notes on Twitter. The veteran righty is set to face live hitters tomorrow, marking an important point in his return from Tommy John surgery.
- Tigers righty Jordan Zimmermann is nearly ready to return from his recent groin injury. Per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, via Twitter, the veteran hurler will start on Friday so long as a bullpen session tomorrow doesn’t give rise to any concerns.
- Dustin Ackley is out of action for the Yankees and may well be facing a DL stint after suffering a shoulder injury, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog reports. New York could turn to veterans Nick Swisher or Chris Parmelee, both of whom are playing at Triple-A, Jennings suggests. It appears, though, that the club will look to get Mark Teixeira back in the lineup rather than reaching into the minors for another option at first, per George A. King III of the New York Post. That could allow the team to shore up another area, without implicating the 40-man roster, if Ackley hits the disabled list.
