De La Rosa exits early with forearm tightness

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Angels reliever Dane De La Rosa faced seven batters, allowed five to reach, served up a grand slam and exited early, initially diagnosed with forearm tightness and leaving the facility to undergo a follow-up MRI.

De La Rosa, the journeyman 31-year-old right-hander who had a breakout season in 2013, issued a walk to A.J. Ellis, uncorked a wild pitch, hit Hanley Ramirez, gave up a single to Adrian Gonzalez to load the bases and then served up a grand slam on a 1-2 fastball to the next batter, Scott Van Slyke.

Three batters later -- after a groundout, a walk, a stolen base and a popout -- De La Rosa was checked on by the Angels' medical staff and removed from the game.

"The ball wasn't coming out as easily as it usually does for him, and I think it looked like he was just a little stiff with his delivery," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who had no update on the injury immediately following the game. "His command was obviously off; he was fighting himself. It was just time to get him out."

The Angels were hopeful that De La Rosa could pitch two full innings in his second spring outing. Last year, while posting a 2.86 ERA while making the fifth-most appearances in the American League (75), De La Rosa never once gave up more than two runs in an outing.

Asked about the concern over any injury in a pitcher's forearm, Scioscia said: "It depends where it is and what it is. We'll just wait for our medical department to give us some guidance on it and see."