MESA, Ariz. -- Reds starting pitcher Tim Adleman was struck by a line drive on his right shoulder in a 12-5 loss to the A's on Thursday and exited the game after 1 1/3 innings. Adleman was diagnosed with a right shoulder contusion.
With a runner on first base, Adleman was struggling and trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the second inning when Jed Lowrie scorched a line drive that hit the right-hander on the arm. Adleman was able to recover to throw out Matt Joyce at second base on the force play.
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Adleman was examined by the trainer and manager Bryan Price for a few moments, and was removed from the game as a precaution.
"It caught me flush on the shoulder, but the muscle part," Adleman said. "It's a little sore but I think I will be fine. I felt good enough to continue going. Obviously, the results were pretty ugly out there today."
Adleman, who is trying to earn a spot in Cincinnati's rotation, felt he could have continued in the game -- if needed. He did not expect to miss his next outing.
"It depends on how this thing reacts," Adleman said. "But from what I can tell so far, I don't think it should be anything more than a small blip."
Adleman was charged with five earned runs, three hits, four walks and a wild pitch in his poorest game of spring. That ballooned his spring ERA to 9.95 over three games, but his previous start was three scoreless innings against the Cubs last Friday.
Following a 2016 season where he was 4-4 with 4.00 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, Adleman is competing against several pitchers for one of the final two rotation spots.
"It's more out of my control than it is in my control," he said. "You never want to have these, obviously. I'll just try to forget it as quickly as possible and try to get back out there whenever the next opportunity happens, and try to get better from this one."