Angels pitcher suffers serious elbow injury against Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani

One pitch to a former teammate is all Patrick Sandoval needs to finish the 2024 season.

Los Angeles Angels The starter tore a UCL in his pitching elbow and needed season-ending surgery after being injured on the field by former teammate Shohei Ohtani.

In an interview with AJ Ramos on Locker Room, Patrick Sandoval revealed that he injured his elbow during his fight with Shohei Ohtani, but continued to serve despite the discomfort.

“I tore up my slider, one of the worst I’ve thrown all year,” Sanodval said. “I thought, ‘Oh no.’ I felt something in my elbow – 3-2 (count), we called the fastball… Threw it as hard as I could and the ball went 88 or 89. The worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life “

The 27-year-old served as the Angels’ starter, finishing the season with a 2-8 record and 5.08 ERA over 16 appearances.

“It sucks, there’s no other way to put it.” Sandoval said at the time of his injury in June. “I love being on the field, I love playing. It’s just unfortunate.”

Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery for the first time in his career. Sandoval’s injury casts doubt on his future with the angels not sure because he won’t be able to pitch in 2025. He is under team control through the end of the 2026 season, but the team can opt out of his participation by making him a free agent after this season.

“You never expect to get injured.” Sandoval said. “But I’m kind of aware of how common it is in the game. Especially at this level and how hard the guys throw.”

Entering last season, Sandoval seemed poised to become a rising star for the Angels. He just finished the 2022 season with a 2.91 ERA and impressed in two starts for Team Mexico during the World Baseball Classic.

However, the season did not turn out as expected. His walk rate has increased significantly and his strikeout rate has decreased markedly.

“It’s hard for everyone, especially him because he started to really compete and then something like this happened.” manager Ron Washington said in June. “You can’t control it. But now we know he needs to fix it. We just need to keep moving forward. I just wished him luck and told him I loved him. I can’t say anything more.”