HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Eight days after he was carted off the Fenway Park field with what appeared to be a devastating injury, Astros pitcher Jake Odorizzi threw a 25-pitch bullpen before Tuesday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, and while there is still no timetable for his return, Odorizzi says he's headed in the right direction.
"Good day today," he said. "Once we keep clearing hurdles, then the build up will be much faster than an arm related injury."
Odorizzi suffered a strained tendon in his left leg in the fifth inning of his start on May 16 against the Red Sox, and Astros manager Dusty Baker said throwing from the mound would be a big step in his rehab process. Odorizzi admitted to feeling some pain on Tuesday which is keeping him from moving further towards a return to action.
"I felt pain-less, I think I'd be in a better spot right now. I'd rather be facing hitters in a rehab assignment, so we're building up."
It was easy to think of the worst case scenario when Odorizzi crumpled in front of the mound last week and he said he heard a pop when it happened. Baker called it a miracle when he started playing catch last week, but Odorizzi didn't want to get that hyperbolic.
”I’d say monumental is a little aggressive. It sounds very heroic, but I think it's more of, like I said from the get-go, day-by-day we try to see where the limit is and we push it and go from there. The throwing has been going good, dry work's been going good, so today was the day we wanted to test it out, and it went really well."
In his second season with the Astros, Odorizzi has compiled a 3.13 ERA in seven starts, and has allowed just two earned runs in his last 22.2 innings.