Street injures groin, helped off field in 9th
ANAHEIM -- The Angels' 3-2, walk-off win over the Mariners Saturday night might have come with a heavy price -- closer Huston Street had to leave the game in the ninth inning with a groin injury he sustained coming off the mound on a Franklin Gutierrez groundout to third base.
Street pulled up and looked to be in serious pain on the play, and he had to be helped off the field. He was replaced by Jose Alvarez.
An injury to Street is a huge blow for the Angels in their hunt for a playoff spot, as setup man Joe Smith, who would normally fill in for Street, is already out hurt -- possibly for the rest of the season -- with a sprained left ankle.
"It's tough. It's not good," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll see what's going on. It's tough to lose Joe and Huston, and we're going to do it by committee and hold the leads."
The Angels are only a half-game behind the Astros for the second American League Wild Card slot, and they trail the Rangers by four games in the AL West. They only have eight regular-season games remaining after Saturday's win, and they could be without their two top bullpen arms.
"It's devastating," Mike Trout said of Street's injury. "He's one of our big guys. We've just got to keep fighting. It's a huge loss for us, with him going down and Joe. Other guys are just gonna have to step up."
Street strained his groin earlier in the season, missing about a week around the All-Star break. The Angels don't know how serious Saturday's injury was, but it appeared that Street could miss extended time, possibly the rest of the season. The Angels will evaluate Street before Sunday's series finale.
Street leads the American League in saves, with 40 in his 62 appearances. That accounts for more than half of the Angels' 79 wins. Smith had made 67 appearances for the Angels this season.
"You start thinking about Joe, then Huston," said David Freese, who fielded the ball on the play Street was injured on, then hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning. "Obviously we don't know the severity of it, but it's tough. Late in the year, you want everybody to be healthy. But we'll persevere."