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Dodgers left-hander Caleb Ferguson suffered an elbow injury in Tuesday night’s win over the Padres in San Diego, and is headed to Los Angeles for more testing.
Ferguson struck out his only batter faced on three pitches in the eighth inning, but felt something in his elbow and called for a team trainer to come to the mound. After exiting the game, X-rays and an ultrasound were inconclusive.
“We’re going to get an MRI tomorrow in Los Angeles. Right now we’re just going to remain in a hopeful state,” manager Dave Roberts said on a conference call after the game. “The tests, everything as of right now, didn’t present as a UCL, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Caleb.”
Ferguson had Tommy John surgery as a high school senior in May 2014, a month before the Dodgers drafted him in the 38th round. He has blossomed into one of their best relievers this season.
He has a 2.89 ERA in 21 appearances this season and 27 strikeouts against only three walks in 18⅔ innings. He is second on the team with a 36% strikeout rate.
The Dodgers won’t put Ferguson on the injured list just yet, at least not until they get the results of the MRI exam. But the bullpen on Wednesday will add Joe Kelly, who will be activated before the series finale after serving his five-game suspension.