Injury was added to insult for the Houston Astros on Monday night at Fenway Park.
The reigning American League champions suffered only their second loss in their last 14 games in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox. And in the process, the Astros saw one of their starting pitchers go down in frightening fashion.
Jake Odorizzi tumbled to the turf as we went to cover first base while Houston made the final out of the fifth inning. The veteran right-hander stayed on the ground for several minutes surrounded by team personnel before he eventually was taken off the field via stretcher. The Astros initially labeled Odorizzi's injury as "lower leg discomfort."
Houston and its fans probably were fearing the worst when Odorizzi went down. But after the game, manager Dusty Baker infused a bit of optimism into the situation.
"He's probably doing better than it looked like on the mound," Baker told reporters, per MLB.com. "He has to go get analyzed by the doctors tomorrow, and so we'll have more word tomorrow. He's on crutches and he was in a boot, (but) he's in good spirits so ... we hope for the best."
It's tough to imagine Odorizzi will make it out of those tests scot-free. But it's obviously a welcomed sight for the 32-year-old and his team that a very serious injury wasn't detected or suggested in real time.
The Astros will try to bounce back Tuesday night when they meet the Red Sox for the middle contest of their three-game series. NESN's full coverage will begin at 6 p.m. ET.
