CHICAGO -- The Angels were greeted with some bad news in Chicago on Friday.
Minutes before the team opened its three-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the club announced that infielder Luis Rengifo was placed on the 10-day injured list with right wrist inflammation.
Rengifo, who leads the club in hits (79) and batting average (.315), was injured on a swing in the ninth inning in Oakland on Wednesday. He immediately left the game and did not appear in the lineup the next day. Now, the wrist injury will keep him away from the action until at least after the all-star break.
For a team that failed to score any runs in each of its last two games, the loss of one of its most productive bats will introduce yet another challenge on the offensive side of the ball. For now, the Halos will also have to trudge on without one of their most versatile defenders.
With Anthony Rendon not quite ready to return to the lineup, the Angels called up Keston Hiura from triple-A Salt Lake to fill in for the injured Rengifo. Hiura, who spent his first four MLB seasons in Milwaukee, hit 12 home runs and slashed .360/.429/.853 in 19 games with Salt Lake this season since signing with the club on June 11.
“Things were going well, (I was) barreling balls, and obviously I was happy with the results,” Hiura said before Friday’s series-opener.
The Angels wasted no time getting Hiura re-acclimated to the big leagues, as he was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at the designated hitter spot.
A graduate of Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., Hiura played his college ball at UC Irvine and is welcoming the opportunity to play close to home.
“My friends and family are pretty excited about it,” Hiura said. “I’m just looking forward to getting to know these guys, being a part of this team, part of this organization and help in whatever way I can to win some ball games.”