KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Matt Moore missed 31 games last season because of a sore elbow, and he could miss more games this season with the elbow acting up again.
Moore exited due to a tender elbow Monday night with one out in the fifth inning in the Rays’ 4-2 to the Royals.
With the count 2-1 on Kansas City right fielder Norichika Aoki, Moore grimaced after throwing a changeup for a ball. Manager Joe Maddon and the trainer rushed to the mound, and Moore was replaced without even throwing a warmup pitch.
Moore will undergo an MRI exam Tuesday to find out the extent of his injury.
“It has to be checked,” Maddon said. “There will be tests tomorrow. We don’t know what’s going on yet. We’ll get an update later.”
Moore went 17-4 with a 3.29 ERA last year, but he went on the disabled list July 31 and returned Sept. 3.
“Hopefully, maybe it’ll be some kind of hyperextension thing,” Moore said. “It stinks. It’s something unfortunate in our game. There’s so much stress on that joint.”
Moore said he had X-rays after he left and they “were fine,” but more extensive tests were still to come.