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The San Diego Padres not only lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday, but they may have also lost one of their All-Star relievers for the season.
Relief pitcher Jason Adam went down in pain during the seventh inning of the team’s 4-3 loss at Petco Park.
The game was tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh with one out and a runner on first base when Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson hit a weak chopper back over the pitcher’s mound.
Adam attempted to make a play on the grounder but immediately crumpled to the ground. Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias fielded the ball but had no play as Henderson reached first base.
As the play ended, Adam immediately waved to the dugout for help.
“I felt the pop right away, felt like the quad kind of rolled up, so I kinda knew it wasn’t good. It was pain at first and then you kinda come to and like, ‘Hey, did we get the out?’ Then it’s just waiting to hear how long,” Adam told reporters postgame while on crutches with a brace on his left leg.
Adam said he “went to plant to go back and grab the ball, because it was kind of a chopper to my right, and that’s when I felt the pop and it kind of gave out and I fell.”
The 34-year-old reliever was eventually helped onto a cart and taken off the field to a standing ovation.
Fellow All-Star reliever Robert Suarez entered in Adam’s place and struck out the first batter he faced, but allowed a run when Dylan Beavers singled to right field, scoring Jeremiah Jackson to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.
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Adam said the hardest part of his injury would be missing out on a potential World Series run.
“I think that’s the hardest part, the recovery is what it is, you can take that day-by-day, but just knowing this group in here, the mental toughness they have, the skill, you just know there’s everything in this clubhouse to win the World Series,” Adam said.
“You want to be a part of that, but I can still play a small part in that by showing up every day for the boys, but that’s the hardest part.”
Adam said he still needs to get an MRI for confirmation “but that sounds like six to nine months, so the season’s probably done.”
Adam has been spectacular for the Padres this season. In 66 games, he posted a 1.93 ERA and struck out 70 batters over 65 1/3 innings. The Padres’ bullpen ERA of 3.11 was the best in Major League Baseball, and Adam was a big part of that success.
Padres manager Mike Shildt called Adam “an absolute workhorse.”
“We’ve got a great clubhouse. We’ve got great dudes. I love him to death. Jason is as solid a guy as there is. He’s well-respected and means a lot to us. We’ll miss him and we’ll have to figure it out,” Shildt said.
The Padres have lost two straight and trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by 2 1/2 games in the National League West. They are two games ahead of the New York Mets for the second NL wild-card spot.
The Padres (76-62) tried to turn things around Tuesday when they face the Orioles (62-76) in the second game of their three-game series at 9:40 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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