ARLINGTON, Texas _ Tommy La Stella's hopes of playing in his first All-Star game may have been dashed Tuesday night when the Angels infielder fouled a ball off his right shin in the sixth inning of a 9-4 victory over the Texas Rangers and had to be carried off the field.
Batting against hard-throwing right-hander Jose Leclerc, La Stella swung at a 3-and-1 fastball and hit the ball straight into his shin, just below the knee. La Stella crumpled to the ground and was helped off the field, unable to put any weight on his right leg.
He was replaced during the at-bat by Justin Bour, who lined the first pitch he saw from Leclerc into right field for a two-run single to highlight a four-run rally that gave the Angels a 7-3 lead.
La Stella was diagnosed with a right-shin contusion and will undergo a CT scan and an evaluation on Wednesday. Angels manager Brad Ausmus said he was unsure how serious La Stella's injury is.
"We've got to get more pictures," he said.
La Stella is having a career year, batting .300 with 16 homers and 44 RBIs, a first-half effort that led to the former utility infielder being voted by players as a reserve for next Tuesday's All-Star game in Cleveland. La Stella hit 10 homers in 396 games over his first five big-league seasons.
