OAKLAND – The encouraging comeback, the pioneering treatment, even the direction of the Los Angeles Angels’ season seemed threatened as Garrett Richards walked off the mound in the fifth inning Wednesday night alongside the team’s trainer.
Richards had looked sharp in his first start since May 1, hitting 98 mph on the stadium radar gun and holding the Oakland Athletics to three hits over 4 2/3 innings in the Angels’ eventual 5-0 victory.
But as he headed to the dugout, having rubbed the area around his elbow, it was impossible not to think of the ligament tear that had ended Richards’ 2016 season after one month and jeopardized his career.