ANAHEIM, Calif._It had been 15 months since Matt Shoemaker last pitched at Angel Stadium, in a game in which the home team used Yunel Escobar as its cleanup batter.
It had been awhile indeed for Shoemaker, with two forearm surgeries in the interim, setting free a compressed nerve and repairing a torn tendon.
For an Angels team desperate for starting pitchers that can stay off the disabled list, the report card Friday appeared more discouraging than encouraging.
The box score was fine. Shoemaker took the defeat in the Angels' 5-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, but he struck out eight, walked none and endured two errors in his 42/3 innings.
No, the concern became evident in the fifth inning, when an athletic trainer rushed to see Shoemaker. His first two fastballs that inning registered 88 and 89 mph. His fastballs in the first two innings ranged from 92-94 mph, in the next two innings from 90-93 mph.
Shoemaker had averaged 91.6 mph on his fastball this season, according to Fangraphs.
He remained in the game and pitched to another three batters.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the velocity decline might have been a mechanical issue but did not indicate an injury.
"That's a relief," Scioscia said.
Shoemaker suspected he might have tired during a long fourth inning but said he had absolutely no concern about injury and no tests planned.
"Everything's all good," he said.
A sharp drop in velocity during a game can indicate an injury. In his last game, Shohei Ohtani lost about 5 mph on his fastball from one inning to the next. The Angels removed him, in what turned out to be his last start before doctors recommended Tommy John surgery.
