Mike Fiers will undergo testing on his right hand Monday after part of it went numb as he delivered a pitch in Saturday's 8-6 win over the Texas Rangers.
The A's right-hander recorded the first two outs of the second inning, but on his first pitch to Rougned Odor, a cutter, he felt a shooting numbness in his hand.
"It's kind of scary," Fiers told reporters. "It's happened before, more so on my curveball. It happened to me in the game against the Yankees on a cutter -- similar thing. I had to wait for some feeling to come back in my hand. It was the same thing again today. It just happened earlier in the game."
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A's manager Bob Melvin and trainer Nick Paparesta immediately went out to check on Fiers, but he stayed in the game initially. The 34-year-old proceeded to allow a two-run home run to Odor, followed by a walk to Delino DeShields, with decreased velocity in both at-bats. At that point, Melvin decided to take him out.
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"You just can't be too careful with a guy like that," Melvin told reporters. "He just didn't look right to me. He looked like he was wincing a couple of times. He just wasn't comfortable. He was shaking his arm. Hopefully, this is something that works its way out."
Fiers says the pain and numbness went away after the one pitch, but it remained on his mind for the next couple of batters.
Oakland Athletics
"It was just the one pitch," he said. "I threw it, my hand went numb, and I had to wait for some feeling to come back. It was more mental at that point than anything. Altering my delivery is something that you don't want to do. You can get injured further doing that."
Melvin says it's too early to know if Fiers will be able to make his next start. The team should know more after he's checked out Monday.
"We'll see," Melvin said. "I guess there's the possibility he pitches his next time out if all is good. If not, then we'll figure something out."
Fortunately for Melvin, Oakland has amassed some excellent depth in their starting rotation. The A's have been utilizing a six-man rotation recently, which means they still have five other healthy starters, as well as one wild-card.
"We still have Luzardo in our back pocket," Melvin noted. "So we have some depth. It's a concern because (Fiers) is our number one guy. So we hope everything works its way out here in the next couple of days."