Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Angels’ Skaggs remembered at memorial service
SANTA MONICA >> Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs has been remembered at a memorial service as a beloved son, husband, teammate and friend whose upbeat personality brought joy to everyone around him.
Skaggs’ teammates and family gathered at a Catholic church in his native Santa Monica on Monday to remember Skaggs, who was found dead in his hotel room in Texas on July 1. He died just short of his 28th birthday.
Hundreds of attendees laughed and cried at the eulogies from 14 speakers, including Angels current pitcher Andrew Heaney. The final speaker was Carli Skaggs, the pitcher’s wife.
The current Angels were joined by former team members including manager Mike Scioscia, Jered Weaver, Garrett Richards and David Freese.
Rangers place closer Shawn Kelley on 10day injured list
SEATTLE >> The Texas Rangers have placed closer Shawn Kelley on the 10-day injured list with biceps soreness in his right arm, but manager Chris Woodward said the injury appears far less severe than first believed.
The Rangers made the move with Kelley on Monday before opening a threegame series in Seattle. Texas selected the contract of reliever Rafael Montero from Triple-A Nashville to take Kelley’s roster spot and designated for assignment outfielder Carlos Tocci to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Kelley left Sunday’s game in Houston in the bottom of the eighth after throwing several warmup pitches. Woodward said he immediately thought the injury was serious enough Kelley’s season could be over.
An MRI showed no acute injury and Woodward said it was “way better than we all thought.” Woodward expects Jose Leclerc and Chris Martin to handle the lateinning duties with Kelley out.
Kelley, 35, is 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 33 appearances, including 11 saves.
Edwin Jackson agrees to minor league deal with Tigers
DETROIT >> Right-hander Edwin Jackson has agreed to a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers and will report to Triple-A Toledo.
The 35-year-old was 1-5 with an 11.12 ERA this season for Toronto, his record 14th major league team over a 17-year big career. The Blue Jays released him on Friday.
He was an All-Star with the Tigers a decade ago, threw a no-hitter the next year with Arizona and helped St. Louis win the World Series in 2011.
Detroit traded Jackson in 2009 as part of a threeteam deal with the New York Yankees and Arizona, trades that brought righthander Max Scherzer and outfielder Austin Jackson to the Tigers.
Detroit announced the deal Monday.
Brewers All-Star Woodruff could miss 6 weeks
MILWAUKEE >> All-Star pitcher Brandon Woodruff could miss up to six weeks with a left oblique strain, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Monday.
The right-hander allowed four runs in three innings against Arizona on Sunday before exiting after throwing two pitches in the fourth.
He underwent an MRI and was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday. Right-handed reliever Burch Smith was recalled from Triple-A San Antonio.
“Less than 24 hours out, we’re looking at six weeks. That’s probably our best guess,” Counsell said. “Kind of what we expected. Obviously, that’s significant and he’s going to miss some time. He’ll do his best and we’ll do our best to get him back as fast as we can.”
Woodruff (11-3, 3.75 ERA) has been the most effective starter for the Brewers, who entered Monday’s game at 53-48 and are two games behind the Cubs in the Central Division. Milwaukee is 16-4 in games he started.
Woodruff’s 11 victories are tied for second in the N.L. He leads the Brewers in victories, innings pitched (117 2/3), and strikeouts (136). Woodruff also was hitting .267 with four doubles and four RBI and was used a pinchhitter five times.
“That’s it right there,” Counsell said. “He’s pitched well enough for us to be 164. It’s obviously a really good record and it’s because he’s pitched well and swung the bat well. So we’re going to miss that for sure. But this is the big leagues and there’s injuries we have to recover from and thrive from them.”
Counsell did not name a replacement for Woodruff in the rotation.
“We’ve got to fill in around him,” Counsell said. “That’s what we’re going to have to do. I think we can and I think we’ll look at all ways we can do that. With both who we’ve got personnel-wise and the schedule does allow us to do some things and we’ll try to take advantage of that.”
“But most importantly, we’ve got to fill in around that,” Counsell said. “There’s going to be innings we need to get from somebody else. Obviously, Woody was delivering some pretty good innings, so it’s up to both pitching-wise and defensively to fill in around him.”
Pirates suspend reliever Keone Kela 2 games
PITTSBURGH >> The Pittsburgh Pirates have suspended reliever Keone Kela two games for an unspecified violation of his contract.
The team made the announcement on Monday shortly before opening a four-game series with St. Louis. The suspension came after the team activated Kela from the 60-day injured list. Kela went on the injured list on May 6 with right shoulder discomfort. He completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis over the weekend, allowing five runs in 3 1/3 innings across four appearances with the Indians.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said over the weekend the team anticipated getting Kela — acquired in a deal with the Texas Rangers at last year’s trade deadline — back in the bullpen on Monday. Hurdle, however, demurred on Monday when asked about Kela’s availability, saying only that the team was still in the process of evaluating Kela’s status.
Kela is 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in 14 games with the Pirates this season.
Ryan Zimmerman on IL with plantar fasciitis
WASHINGTON >> Ryan Zimmerman was put on the 10day injured list by the Washington Nationals because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the second time this season the injury has sidelined the 34-year-old first baseman.
Zimmerman left Sunday’s loss at Atlanta after an infield single in the second inning. Zimmerman missed 53 games between April 27 and June 28 because of the same injury. He is hitting .246 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 33 games.
“Now it’s just really pain tolerance,” manager Dave Martinez said Monday. “It can go away really fast. It can come back. It can take a while.”
Matt Adams is expected again to play extensively in Zimmerman’s absence. He is hitting .232 with 15 homers and 40 RBIs in 71 games.
Washington also selected the contract of right-hander Michael Blazek from Triple-A Fresno, recalled outfielder Andrew Stevenson from Fresno, optioned right-hander Kyle McGowin to Double-A Harrisburg and transferred right-hander Justin Miller (rotator cuff strain) to the 60-day injured list.