Kenley Jansen suffered a right groin injury.
The 38-year-old right-handed reliever walked Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout on four pitches with two outs in the ninth inning, then signaled to Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch – removing himself from the game.
It happened Wednesday, May 27, in the second of three games against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park.
The severity of the injury is unknown.
“We’ll get him evaluated,” Hinch said.
Jansen walked off the field with assistant athletic trainer Chris McDonald.
For the first out in the ninth, Jansen felt discomfort in his right groin when he sprinted off the mound to cover first base on a Logan O’Hoppe groundout to first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
After that, he felt discomfort in his delivery on a pitch to Zach Neto. He had to throw a practice pitch in front of Hinch and McDonald to stay in the game.
“When he covered first, he looked a little uncomfortable,” Hinch said. “It could be for a variety of reasons. He threw a couple of more pitches, then we went out there. He didn’t feel pain. He just felt like his leg gave out.”
Moments later, Jansen removed himself from the game with the right groin injury.
“Once he looked in the dugout again, it was going to be over for him,” Hinch said.
The Tigers replaced Jansen with right-handed reliever Brenan Hanifee, who recorded the final out in the ninth inning – securing a 4-0 win over the Angels.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers’ Kenley Jansen exits game with injury in ninth inning
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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