What Happened To Luis Garcia?
The Houston Astros pulled him with an injury designation.
Some were skeptical when Luis Garcia was withdrawn from Saturday’s American League Championship Series start.
It was only the second inning, and he had already given up a grand slam to the Boston Red Sox the previous inning and had also given up one in the second. His stride was sluggish, and he was plainly out of breath.
As a result, suspicions began to circulate that the Astros were attempting to disrupt the Red Sox’s strong offense, or at the absolute least, keep starting Nathan Eovaldi on the bench and get him cold.
Neither of those strategies succeeded, and the Red Sox won 9-5, punishing Odorizzi as horribly as they had Garcia.
Garcia’s condition was categorized as “knee pain” by the Astros, but he was kept on the ALCS roster, fueling speculation of shady dealings, and he explained what he was up against.
Garcia told ASAP Sports on Sunday, “I feel pretty fantastic.” “My knee hurt a little bit on Saturday, but today I feel extremely fantastic throwing, and I’m fine.”
Between the first and second innings, the 24-year-knee old’s pain became more severe, according to him. Dusty Baker, the Astros’ manager, said it’s something he’s been dealing with all season, and Garcia agreed to a degree.
“I was coping with it for a year, I suppose,” Garcia recalled, “but it was something I could control, and I don’t know, (Saturday) was something different.”
“That’s why I left the game….” On Saturday, I felt a squeeze in my knee that was more severe than usual, but everything is OK today, thank God.”
Garcia isn’t sure when he’ll be able to throw again and looks to be following the medical staff’s advice. Game 3 will be pitched by José Urquidy, with Game 4 being pitched by Zach Greinke.
Had he not needed to eat innings in Game 2, it would have been Odorizzi for Game 4.