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The Texas Rangers endured a scary moment on Monday night when their closer, Luke Jackson, took a 111 mile-per-hour come-backer off his hand in the ninth inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies. The Rangers won the game, 2-1, but manager Bruce Bochy said there was cause for concern about Jackson.
“We'll see how he responds. But that thing blew up right away, so do have some concern,” Bochy told reporters, adding that x-rays were negative, but Jackson's right hand “swelled up pretty good.”
The play came when the Rockies' Ryan McMahon lined a pitch back to Jackson. The ball caromed off the closer's hand and landed in the infield as McMahon reached with a single.
Bochy was unsure of a timeline for Jackson's return on Monday but said that an IL stint was a possibility and the team would know more on Tuesday. Texas hosts the Rockies again on Tuesday night at 8:05 p.m. ET, so expect him to address the media by late afternoon.
The game's winning pitcher, Tyler Mahle, empathized with his closer, noting how dangerous pitching can be when hard hitters come up.
“I mean 60 feet away is not that far, especially when those guys can hit as hard as they can,” he said. “He was just out there trying to do what he does, and then something crappy like that happens. It just sucks.”
Jackson is in his 10th season in the Majors and his first with the Rangers. He has saved eight games so far this season but is saddled to a 5.54 ERA, mostly due to two bad performances about a month apart. Jackson entered Monday night's game coming off of consecutive scoreless outings.
The Rangers enter play on Tuesday at 21-21, but only two games behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West. In addition to Jackson, they also have to worry about Corey Seager, who sat with hamstring soreness for the fourth time in five games. Bochy said the team would also know more about his status on Tuesday.
