Astros Starter "Heard A Large Pop" From His Leg; Hits IL

The pop of the mitt... The crack of the bat... These are things you love to hear at the ballpark. But if you're a pitcher on the mound, a "large pop" from your leg is definitely not something you want to hear. Unfortunately, that was the case for Houston Astros pitcher Jake Odorizzi when he left the mound Monday night and was carted off the field. 

"One of the tendons that we pissed off runs parallel to the Achilles," Jake Odorizzi said. "That's what they think the big pop was from."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 18, 2022

Odorizzi apparently aggravated ("p*ssed off" as he puts it) some tendons and ligaments around his ankle and foot, and he says it was a tendon that runs parallel to the Achilles that caused the distressing "pop" that he heard. The Achilles itself, though, is fine, which is good news.

Jake Odorizzi said he feared he ruptured his Achilles tendon, but an MRI revealed only some strains and sprains of other ligaments around the ankle/foot. Odorizzi will return this season and said this is “best case scenario.” A timeline is unclear, but Odorizzi is off crutches

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 18, 2022

He's been placed on the 15-day IL for now with "strains and sprains" of some ligaments, though there's no timeline for a return at this point. The 32-year-old insists that he'll be back to pitch this season. He was off to a nice start with the Astros, with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, both considerably better than his 11-year career marks of 3.92 and 1.24. 

Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports