Randy Vasquez fainted after his abbreviated start in Dodgers games on Thursday night and was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. The Padres right-hander had regained consciousness before the trip for precautionary tests.
Craig Stammen said Vasquez passed out while on his way to get X-rays on his right ankle. The ankle had been struck by a 99 mph comebacker in the first inning, and he finished with four runs allowed in three innings during the Padres' 12-7 loss.
Randy Vasquez and the ankle blow
The injury sequence began in the first inning and ended after the start was over. Vasquez worked through three innings, then collapsed on the way to imaging after the ankle problem had already pushed the outing off course.
The timing made the health scare harder to separate from the game itself. The Padres had built a 6-0 lead through the first two innings against Roki Sasaki, then watched the night turn into a 12-7 loss.
Freddy Fermin Leaves Too
Freddy Fermin also exited after taking a foul tip off his face mask in the fifth inning. He was being evaluated for a concussion, adding another in-game health issue to a roster already carrying the weight of the night.
That came on top of a season-high six consecutive losses for the Padres. Since taking the opener of a weekend series against the Dodgers from Petco Park last Friday, their pitchers have allowed 66 runs, the most in franchise history over a six-game stretch.
Padres Pitching Under Pressure
The numbers around the slide are blunt. Padres pitchers have posted a 10.48 ERA over those six games, served up 17 homers, and had no starter complete five innings in any of them.
For Vasquez, the immediate issue is simple: he left the outing after a hit to the right ankle and ended up in a hospital after fainting. The next step is the medical evaluation itself, because the start, the collapse, and the precautionary tests all point to the same thing — the Padres need a clean read on what the ankle incident triggered before the rotation takes another turn.
