OAKLAND, Calif. _ Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Albert Pujols returned to Southern California on Wednesday morning to undergo treatment on his sore left knee.
Pujols missed the Angels' series finale in Oakland but will be ready to play in Seattle on Friday, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
The Angels do not play Thursday. General manager Billy Eppler wrote in a text message that Pujols will be evaluated at home.
"Once that step is concluded, we'll update the plan of care," Eppler wrote.
Scioscia said Pujols hurt the knee when he slid into second base on a first-inning double Friday in Texas. He played the rest of the game and the next four games, and logged some of his best performances of a difficult 2017 season.
"It just irritated it a little bit," Scioscia said. "He's been playing on it. He's been swinging well. It just affects some of his running."
Pujols, 37, has played in 127 of the Angels' 140 games. He is hitting .244 with a .289 on-base percentage and .394 slugging mark, all below the major league average. Hitting behind Mike Trout for most of the season, he has 21 home runs and 93 runs batted in.
In six years with the Angels, Pujols has repeatedly undergone surgical procedures during the offseason, hampering his ability to train. Scioscia said as recently as last month that he expected this winter to be different. But Pujols' running has appeared more pained in recent days and weeks.
