ANAHEIM -- It was more than just a tough lopsided loss to the Cubs on Saturday night, as the Angels saw first baseman Nolan Schanuel, right-hander Victor Mederos and long reliever Carson Fulmer sustain injuries.
Mederos, making his third career start, fared well early against the Cubs, only to deal with fatigue later in his outing. He gave a two-run homer to Kyle Tucker in the third inning and a grand slam to Reese McGuire in the fourth in a 12-1 loss at Angel Stadium.
Schanuel exited in the sixth with left wrist soreness, while Fulmer left in the seventh with right elbow discomfort.
“I felt like I threw the ball OK in the first couple of innings, but just felt a little fatigued in the fourth and felt something,” Mederos said. “We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. We don’t know what it is. Just taking it day by day.”
Mederos, 24, joined the rotation to replace right-hander Jack Kochanowicz in mid-August. Mederos pitched on short rest in his first career start against the Dodgers, allowing three runs over four innings. Then he had a more normal outing against the Reds on Monday, surrendering three runs over five innings on 95 pitches.
Mederos, who had a 3.39 ERA in 16 starts with Triple-A Salt Lake to earn his callup, looked solid in the first and second innings against the Cubs, retiring six of the seven batters he faced. But after striking out Dansby Swanson and McGuire in the third, he gave up a two-out double to Michael Busch on an 0-1 changeup over the heart of the plate.
First baseman Nolan Schanuel made a diving attempt on the double and later left the game in the sixth inning with left wrist discomfort. He’ll undergo testing on Sunday but is hopeful it’s a minor injury.
“It kind of flared up when I dove for that ball down the line,” Schanuel said. “It's been hurting for a little over a week now. So we’ll see what comes back, and, hopefully, I’ll be back in there soon.”
After the double, up stepped Tucker, who homered in the first inning on Friday. He again went deep, on a 1-1 sinker from Mederos located right down the middle.
Mederos saw his velocity begin to dip in the fourth inning and just couldn’t seem to get that elusive third out. He walked Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner with one out before hitting Swanson with a first-pitch sinker to load the bases.
Mederos got ahead of McGuire with two strikes but served up a grand slam on a 94.7 mph sinker that also caught way too much of the zone. He got Busch to line out to end the inning, but the damage was done.
“I think that's the fatigue setting in a bit,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “It was more humid than we're used to. So that was part of it, too. And so he had some fatigue at the end of that inning and obviously he was frustrated with the way the results came out.”
Mederos, who has had brief stints in the Majors as a reliever in each of the last two seasons, will have to locate his pitches better going forward. Too many were thrown down the middle and punished for extra bases.
It’s unclear whether he’ll get another start because of his fatigue issue, but he’s treating every start as a learning experience.
“I think the biggest thing I can take away is that I can compete against all these guys,” Mederos said. “If I’m able to be in the zone and locate and execute pitches, I'll be able to compete against anyone.”
Fulmer was forced into action and also scuffled, allowing six runs over 1 1/3 innings before exiting with elbow discomfort. He also gave up a three-run homer to Tucker, who has continued to torment the Angels, much like he did when he was with the Astros.
Fulmer, 31, said he never has dealt with an elbow injury in his nine-year career but is trying to remain optimistic with further testing set for Sunday.
“Just felt some stuff in my elbow,” Fulmer said. “Kind of still uncertain about what it is, but I'll get some tests tomorrow and kind of go from there.”