SEATTLE -- Mariners rookie Braden Bishop, making just his seventh start of the season in center field on Tuesday night against the Astros, was pulled in the fifth inning of the 11-5 loss due to a cramp in the trapezius muscle behind his left shoulder.
Bishop said his neck locked up after he caught a fly ball hit by Yuli Gurriel leading off the fourth and he wound up in severe pain after coming to the sidelines.
“When I ran in, I couldn’t stand up straight,” Bishop said. “My trap locked up and I came inside and it was a tough 45 minutes. It’s just very uncomfortable. The doctor was stumped, I was stumped. We just had no idea what it really was.
"I got hit in the ribs five to six days ago so they were kind of worried about something serious, but I passed those tests, so luckily that wasn’t what it was."
Bishop still couldn't turn his head and was looking for answers after the game ended.
“It’s still very uncomfortable," he said. "It’s just a weird deal. I’ve never had anything like this before. I’ve been hurt a lot, but this was different.”
Bishop, the Mariners’ No. 11 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, was just recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday and got the start Tuesday in place of the struggling Mallex Smith.
Bishop struck out in his first two at-bats and then was replaced in the field by Smith in the top of the fifth. The 25-year-old Bishop, out of the University of Washington, has hit .083 (2-for-24) with two RBIs in 10 games this season.
But Bishop is a standout defensively and the manager Scott Servais was hoping he could help solidify the outfield after some ongoing difficulties from Smith, who has also hit just .197 in his first 43 games with Seattle after being acquired from the Rays last winter.
Bishop’s younger brother, Hunter, was a first-round Draft pick of the Giants on Monday with the 10th overall selection after an outstanding season at Arizona State.
