Seven Straight Hits, One Fractured Hand: Rivero's Hot Streak Derailed, Angels Scramble For Catcher

HOLY MOLY, you guys. Just when you think you've seen it all in MLB, a dude goes on a heater, hits for seven straight, and then BAM. It's over. Los Angeles Angels catcher Sebastian Rivero, who was absolutely scorching the ball, just got hit with the ultimate gut punch. He's officially on the 10-day injured list, and get this, it's for a fractured left hamate bone. That's a brutal break for any player, let alone someone who was swinging a hot stick like Rivero was just yesterday!

From Scorching Bat to Surgery Table

Can you even imagine? Rivero was on fire, absolutely seeing the ball like a beach ball against the Astros on Tuesday. He racked up two singles early in that game, extending his incredible run to seven straight hits. Seriously, seven straight! Then, in the fifth inning, he fouled off a pitch, and that was it. Immense pain. The dude was pulled, Logan O'Hoppe stepped in, and the strikeout for that at-bat got charged to Rivero, ending what could have been an even longer streak. What a brutal way to go out. The CT scan on Wednesday confirmed the worst: a fractured left hamate bone. Surgery is coming, and he's looking at about four weeks on the shelf. Just a complete nightmare for Rivero, who was batting .245 with eight RBIs in 24 games this season. He's only played 35 games for the Angels in the last two years, so this was his moment to shine, and it just got cut short.

The Scramble for the Halos

So, what do you do when your hot catcher goes down with a hand injury that requires surgery? You scramble, that's what. The Angels immediately recalled catcher Logan Porter from Triple-A Salt Lake to fill the void. Porter is 30 years old and recently signed a minor league deal. He had been batting .241 with one homer and 10 RBIs in 17 games with the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento this season. In the big leagues, he's appeared in 16 games, spread across the Royals in 2023, and the Giants last season and this season, batting .184 with one homer and four RBIs. To make room for Porter on the 40-man roster, the Angels moved right-hander Jack Kochanowicz to the 60-day injured list, as he's set to undergo Tommy John surgery. Talk about a cascade of unfortunate events!

And if you thought that was it for the Angels' injury woes, think again. Third baseman Yoan Moncada is scheduled for right knee surgery next week. First baseman Nolan Schanuel, who left Tuesday's game with left calf tightness, was also nowhere to be found in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros. It's a tough break for any team to deal with these kinds of injuries, especially when guys are finally heating up. This is the grind of the MLB season, isn't it?

So, the Angels are patching things up and hoping for the best. For us Seattle fans, it just goes to show how brutal this game can be, and how every single player, every single game, matters. We'll be watching to see how they manage through this stretch. Get well soon, Rivero, that's a tough one to swallow.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.