KANSAS CITY — Trevor McDonald left his start early Monday night and is likely destined for the injured list pending the results of an MRI to come in the near future.
The Giants starter took the mound to warm up for the fifth inning of Monday’s 4-3 walkoff loss to the Royals but was accompanied back to the dugout by a trainer before the inning began.
McDonald said he felt discomfort in his elbow after throwing a slider during his warm ups.
“Nothing that I wanted to chance right now,” he said. “So I thought it was best to come out when I did.”
McDonald had allowed three runs on three hits, including a 440-foot homer by Salvador Perez, the previous inning. He also hit two batters and walked another two.
But he said those challenges had more to do with his trouble gripping the baseball as sweat poured from his body on an obscenely hot and humid night at Kauffman Stadium.
“I’m a pretty heavy sweater,” McDonald said. “I kind of turned into a one-pitch pony there for a little bit, losing the grip on the slider and the changeup.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for the 25-year-old right-hander, but the second half was primed to be important for him. While the Giants are out of the playoff chase, they will be using the final third or so of the season to evaluate what they have for next year.
McDonald figured to be a part of those plans. But his outlook is murkier now.
After his abbreviated outing, McDonald’s ERA stood at 5.12 with 57 strikeouts to a combined 35 walks and hit batters in 70 ⅓ innings across 14 starts this season.
The Giants didn’t plan to wait for the results of the MRI to make a roster move.
Tristan Beck was already on his way to Kansas City, according to manager Tony Vitello.
“It’s getting looked at by our people,” Vitello said. “And we’ll go from there.”