Clevinger suddenly pulled after 1 inning, Pads fall to Halos

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Padres might have suffered a blow to the front of their playoff rotation when right-hander Mike Clevinger was suddenly pulled after only one inning in his start Wednesday in a 5-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Padres, who've clinched a playoff berth for the first time in 14 seasons, said Clevinger's departure wasn't planned but offered no other details.

Clevinger’s start had been pushed back from Saturday night because of tightness in his right biceps. Manager Jayce Tingler said on Tuesday that Clevinger threw a bullpen session on Monday and seemed good to go for Wednesday afternoon’s start.

A few days earlier, Tingler held out hope that Clevinger might even be able to make two more starts before the regular season ended, even if the second one was brief.

While Clevinger had been the presumed Game 1 starter in the wild-card round starting next Wednesday, that role could now go to Dinelson Lamet.

Clevinger, obtained in a blockbuster trade with Cleveland on Aug. 31, breezed through a perfect first inning on 12 pitches, including striking out Mike Trout and David Fletcher.

But rookie Adrian Morejon began warming up in the bullpen while the Padres batted in the bottom of the inning and came out to start the second. Morejon (2-2) allowed a tying, two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani and solo shots to Justin Upton and Anthony Bemboom that gave the Angels a 4-2 lead.

The Padres earned their first playoff berth since 2006 with an 11-inning victory against Seattle on Sunday. They're 0-2 since then, getting swept by the Angels, and their magic number remains at two for clinching homefield advantage as the NL's No. 4 seed in the wild-card round next week.

The Angels entered the day mathematically in the race for the second wild card and for...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Clevinger-suddenly-pulled-after-1-inning-Pads-15592512.php