LOS ANGELES -- While shortstop Zach Neto returned to the lineup after missing three games with whiplash, both first baseman Vaughn Grissom and designated hitter Jorge Soler were scratched with left side tightness before Friday’s Freeway Series opener against the Dodgers.
Neto injured himself in a collision at home plate on Saturday in St. Petersburg and played on Sunday before dealing with headaches that kept him from playing in the club’s three-game set against the Rockies. But he was back at leadoff and at shortstop against the Dodgers after Thursday’s off-day.
Grissom was the first Angels player to get scratched. He was seen talking with manager Kurt Suzuki and head athletic trainer Mike Frostad before the game, but it’s unclear when he sustained the injury. He was slated to hit fifth before getting taken out of the lineup roughly an hour before the game, with Oswald Peraza moving from second base to first base and Nick Madrigal starting at second base.
Grissom, 25, has slashed .246/.325/.410 with four homers, 10 doubles and 27 RBIs in 40 games this season. He had been filling in at first base for Nolan Schanuel, who has been on the injured list retroactive to May 24 with left ankle tendinitis. Schanuel, though, began a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday night and could return as soon as Saturday.
Soler was scratched just 10 minutes before first pitch after leaving Wednesday’s game in the fifth inning with what was described by the team as left hip irritation. He said he’s been dealing with the issue for the last two weeks but that it flared up and felt worse on Wednesday. But he indicated at the time he didn’t think he’d need to undergo any further testing.
Soler, 34, has slashed .220/.300/.402 with nine homers, 10 doubles and 33 RBIs in 58 games. With Soler out, Adam Frazier started at designated hitter and batted ninth.