ANAHEIM, Calif. _ The Los Angeles Angels were going to need to clear a spot in their starting rotation for Tyler Skaggs to fill when the promising young left-hander returns after almost two years of toiling to recover from Tommy John surgery.
They could have chosen to trade Hector Santiago or Matt Shoemaker. They could have demoted Tim Lincecum to the bullpen.
That decision may have been made for them Monday night. Nick Tropeano exited his start against Texas after two rough innings with what the Angels announced as right elbow soreness. He was examined by trainer Adam Nevala after his removal, and will undergo an MRI exam Tuesday morning.
In emergency relief, Jhoulys Chacin pitched four improbably spotless innings that enabled the Angels to come back and beat the Rangers, 9-5, at Angel Stadium.
"Any time a pitcher has some discomfort in his elbow, you're naturally going to be concerned," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Tropeano. "We're going to hope and pray that it's nothing significant. We hope this isn't going to be another big blow for us."
Last month, Tropeano headed to the disabled list because of shoulder issues he alternately described as "irregularities," "a little discomfort" and "more stiffness than anything." He also acknowledged that the team was unsure of the exact nature of the problem, only that there was one. An MRI exam showed no structural damage within the joint, and 20 days later, he was activated and optioned to the minors.
Tropeano has found surprising success so far in the majors. The 25-year-old right-hander owned a 3.58 earned-run average through 125 2/3 career innings entering play Monday. His two-inning, four-run start was the worst and shortest of his career.
He yielded 860 feet in home runs to Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre in the first inning, after walking Jurickson Profar, the Rangers' leadoff batter. He gave up another homer, to Mitch Moreland, in the second.
Rangers starter A.J. Griffin set the Angels down in order the first time through. The second time, he began with consecutive walks to Yunel Escobar and Kole Calhoun, and Mike Trout followed with a shot to third base that was too hot for Beltre to handle. That was the Angels' first hit of the night, and it loaded the bases with no outs for Albert Pujols, who walked to force in a run.
Daniel Nava's sacrifice fly made it 4-2, before Johnny Giavotella grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Ji-Man Choi's first major league home run made it 4-3 in the fifth. Then in the sixth, Nava came up with two runners in scoring position and one out. He grounded one right to Odor, but the second baseman fumbled the ball. The error allowed Nava to reach first base and Calhoun to score from third to tie it. Then Johnny Giavotella singled in Mike Trout to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.
Scioscia opted for Fernando Salas to throw the seventh inning. It was Salas' first opportunity to pitch in a high-leverage situation since July 4, when he entered a tied game in the sixth inning and gave up the winning runs.
This time, he retired one of four batters before Scioscia pulled him in favor of J.C. Ramirez, and the Rangers pushed across the tying run.
But the Angels rallied in their half of the seventh. Jett Bandy began the inning by taking a fastball to the foot. Andrelton Simmons doubled down the right-field line, and Calhoun followed with a grounder to Odor, who made a nice stop but couldn't deliver the ball to the plate in time to record an out, and the Angels led again, 6-5. Trout hit the next pitch 415 feet, for a three-run, outcome-securing home run.
At 41-52, the Angels have won eight of their last 10 games. They lead the majors in runs this month.
But, as it so often has been this season, the good news was obscured by the bad, by the possibility that another key piece may miss an extended period, by the reality that there is not enough time or healthy players to do what they set out to this season.
