LOS ANGELES — After exiting a game in which he took a comebacker off his right ankle, San Diego Padres starter Randy Vásquez fainted on his way to the Dodger Stadium X-ray room, manager Craig Stammen said late Thursday, adding that the pitcher had regained consciousness and was undergoing testing at a nearby hospital.
In the bottom of the first inning of the Padres’ eventual 12-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Vásquez was pitching to Mookie Betts when the shortstop hit a 98.8 mph groundball that struck him in the ankle and caromed to Padres first baseman Ty France, who gloved the ball and stepped on the bag for the out. A moment later, Vásquez was down on one knee in visible pain as assistant athletic trainer Ricky Huerta checked on the right-hander.
Vásquez eventually threw a few test pitches off the mound, proving he was able to continue. He finished the inning by retiring the next batter and completed two more innings before Wandy Peralta replaced him to start the bottom of the fourth. Vásquez was subsequently walking toward Dodger Stadium’s X-ray room with one of the Padres’ athletic trainers when, according to Stammen, the pitcher briefly lost consciousness.
“Luckily, the trainer kind of caught him, and he just was unconscious for a little bit,” said Stammen, who added that Vásquez was taken to an emergency room as a precaution.
The manager said he did not know exactly how long Vásquez had been out or what caused him to faint.
“It could have been from the pain in his ankle, the anxiety of the situation, or the stress of the situation,” said Stammen, a former big-league reliever. “Our bodies do some crazy stuff.
“We’ll know more hopefully tonight and tomorrow, but right now, he’s good.”
Vásquez has a 4.71 ERA in 17 games, including 16 starts. After a promising beginning to his season, the 27-year-old has struggled to the tune of a 13.03 ERA over his last three outings.
