| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Ainsworth could be out for weeks
Friday June 20, 2003OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Promising San Francisco rookie pitcher Kurt Ainsworth might be out much longer than the Giants anticipated with an injured right shoulder.
Ainsworth left his rehab start Wednesday at Triple-A Fresno because of stiffness in the area behind his throwing shoulder. He was scheduled to throw 70 or 80 pitches, but came out after only 34.
The pitcher will get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.
The Giants had thought Ainsworth had sufficient rest and was ready to return.
Instead, Ainsworth will not return for ``weeks,'' trainer Stan Conte said.
``What we're doing is taking a half-step back and reevaluating,'' Conte said. ``Whatever we did getting him prepared for his minor league start did not work. ... We thought we were being conservative. He took one fewer bullpen session before his rehab assignment. We think he didn't have enough time and he didn't have enough rehab.''
The 24-year-old Ainsworth, a first-round draft pick by the Giants in 1999, is 5-4 with a 3.82 ERA in 11 starts this season.
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