Aug 3, 2020 4 min read

Shohei Ohtani has a right forearm strain that will prevent the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star from throwing for at least four to six weeks, possibly ending his season as a pitcher after just two starts.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler announced Monday that Ohtani “has a grade 1-2 strain of the flexor pronator mass” – a collection of muscles and tendons in the forearm near the elbow.

The right-hander reported discomfort in his arm Sunday after he issued five walks and got only five outs in a rough 50-pitch start against Houston.

Ohtani is traveling with the Angels to Seattle, where they open a six-game road trip Tuesday night. The Angels also use Ohtani as their primary designated hitter between his mound starts, and he is day-to-day as a hitter, the team said.

But Ohtani is unlikely to begin a throwing program for at least a month, which means he might not have time to build himself back up to game strength before the 60-game major league season ends in late September.

The injury is the latest stateside setback for the 26-year-old Ohtani, who left Japan in late 2017 with a determination to become the majors’ first regular two-way player in decades.

Interleague

Phillies-Yankees series changed: The Philadelphia Phillies’ game at the New York Yankees on Tuesday was postponed because of the approach of Tropical Storm Isaisas.

With heavy rain forecast, the game was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where the teams had been scheduled to play single games Wednesday and Thursday.

Both games on Wednesday will be scheduled for seven innings, part of a 2020 rule change that started last weekend during a season reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. The Yankees will be the home team in the opener and the Phillies will be home team in the second game.

New York and Philadelphia were supposed to play home-and-home, two-game series last week, but all four games were postponed after a coronavirus outbreak among the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on July 25.

The Yankees-Phillies games were rescheduled for this week, when the Phillies were supposed to have been at Miami and the Yankees at Baltimore. Instead, the Yankees played two games at the Orioles last week and the Marlins play at Baltimore starting Tuesday.

National League

Brewers coach had heart attack: Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell says bench coach Pat Murphy has been released from the hospital after suffering a heart attack during a team workout Saturday.

Brewers general manager David Stearns said Sunday that Murphy received a stent at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and was resting comfortably.

“It was a scary day,” Counsell said Monday before the Brewers’ game with the Chicago White Sox.

Counsell said Murphy sat down while the team was practicing infield defense and wasn’t feeling well. Trainer Rafael Freitas was nearby and escorted Murphy to the clubhouse, where he met with team physician, Dr. Mark Niefeldt.

“Niedfeldt was in the building, fortunately, and diagnosed what was going on, and we got him to the hospital,” Counsell said.

Milwaukee doesn’t plan to bring in an additional staff member while Murphy recovers.

Murphy’s heart attack was the scariest part of an eventful few days for the Brewers that included outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Shelby Miller opting out of the rest of the season, first baseman/outfielder Ryan Braun going on the injured list with an infected index finger and a home-opening series with St. Louis getting postponed because multiple Cardinals players tested positive for the coronavirus.