ANAHEIM ― The cracked nail on Shohei Ohtani’s right middle finger hasn’t kept him out of the Angels’ starting lineup since the injury manifested in his start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. To the contrary, he hit four home runs in four games to end the month of June.
The cracked fingernail will, however, push Ohtani’s next pitching appearance to Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, Manager Phil Nevin announced Saturday.
Ohtani will now be opposed by San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove in the middle game of the three-game series. Angels right-hander Jaime Barría will start Monday against left-hander Blake Snell.
“We think it’s going to be fine,” Nevin said of Ohtani’s fingernail.
Despite the injury, Ohtani allowed one run in 6⅓ innings in the Angels’ 4-2 victory over Chicago. He threw 102 pitches in all – effectively a normal start – and said afterward that “I came out of the game before it got too bad.”
By pitching Tuesday, Ohtani will have six days of rest between starts for just the second time this season. Ohtani had six days’ rest prior to his June 9 start at home against the Seattle Mariners. He pitched five innings in a no-decision that day.
For Barria, swapping places in the rotation with Ohtani offers him a quicker opportunity to rebound from his worst outing of the season. Barría allowed five runs in three innings Wednesday in the Angels’ 11-5 loss to the White Sox. He started on four days’ rest once this season and tossed five shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox on May 22.
Nevin said there will be no restrictions on Barría on Monday.
“I think (Barría) is more effective when he’s out there more often,” Nevin said.
The switcheroo is certain to please executives at TBS. The network previously selected Tuesday’s game for its “Fourth of July Showdown” telecast. Analyst Ron Darling and play-by-play broadcaster Brian Anderson will call the game.
Nevin said left-hander Patrick Sandoval will start Wednesday’s game against the Padres as scheduled.
INJURY UPDATES
Matt Moore threw off a mound for the first time since he was placed on the injured list on May 28 with a strained right oblique. The left-handed reliever said he threw 15 pitches, all fastballs.
Infielder Brandon Drury was held out of the lineup for the second consecutive day because of a “jammed” shoulder.
Shortstop Zach Neto (oblique) took part in some light activities in the field prior to Saturday’s game.
ALSO
Major League Baseball announced that Angels Director of Sports Medicine/Head Certified Athletic Trainer Mike Frostad was selected to the American League training staff for the All-Star Game on July 11 in Seattle. … According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Friday’s game featuring brothers David Fletcher and Dominic Fletcher marked the first time an Angels player played against his brother in a game since May 12, 2014, when Cory Rasmus played against Toronto’s Colby Rasmus.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks (RHP Zac Gallen, 10-2, 3.02 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 1-5, 3.77 ERA), Sunday, 1 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
