During his fifth appearance on the mound this past Friday night, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ben Joyce departed the game against the Seattle Mariners with discomfort in his right arm. The former Volunteer and Knoxville native only faced two batters before being taken out on Friday night.
Despite being placed on the 15-day injured list, though, there is good news.
According to Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger, Joyce’s ligament is “intact” and it is “just a nerve issue.”
“We’re very happy with the results,” Angels skipper Phil Nevin said via Bollinger’s tweet.
Additionally, according to The LA Times’ Sarah Valenzuela, Joyce was listed with “ulnar neuritis” in his right elbow prior to Saturday’s game as an MRI revealed the “nerve inflammation but no ligament damage.”
Valenzuela tweeted out a video on Sunday reporting that Joyce will travel with the Angels on their upcoming road trip to Texas for a four-game series and will rehab the injury on the road.
Matt Moore threw to about 60 feet today. He and Ben Joyce are going on the road trip with the Angels to continue injury recovery work with the team. pic.twitter.com/nJ7AMdEjln
— Sarah Valenzuela (@Sarah_IsabelVee) June 11, 2023
More from RTI: WATCH – VFL Ben Joyce Stuns Jose Altuve with 102 MPH Strikeout
“I mean anytime you get pulled out of the game, it’s not a good feeling,” Joyce said via Valenzuela’s article. “The thoughts going through your head, I mean I’ve had Tommy John before so it was a thought in my head. But hearing the [MRI] news was good. It was a relief for sure.”
The Volunteer Fireman, as he was nicknamed in Knoxville, had four previous outings before his shortened inning on Friday against Seattle. Joyce currently has a 4.50 ERA after facing 21 batters across those five outings. Aside from Friday, Joyce has worked one single inning in each appearance this season for Los Angeles.
Ben Joyce found the first win of his MLB career during his fourth outing against the Cubs on Wednesday. Joyce walked three and got three to ground out in a strange inning, but one that gave him the win nonetheless.
Here’s a look at Joyce’s statistics so far:
Monday, 5/29, at Chicago White Sox
1.0 innings, zero runs, one hit, zero walks, 2 strikeouts, 10 pitches, Hold credit
Thursday, 6/1, at Houston Astros
1.0 innings, zero runs, one hit, zero walks, 2 strikeouts, 10 pitches
Saturday, 6/3, at Houston Astros
1.0 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 home run, 1 strikeout, 31 pitches
Wednesday, 6/7, vs Chicago Cubs
1.0 innings, zero runs, zero hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 27 pitches, Win credit
Friday, 6/9, vs Seattle Mariners
0.0 innings, 1 walk, exited during the second at-bat with hand/arm discomfort
Totals
4.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 home run, 4 walks, 6 ground outs, 6 fly outs, 88 pitches, 21 batters faced, 4.50 ERA
