Long County native Dustin McGowan had the rug pulled out from under him last week when
he learned his shoulder injury required surgery and would force him to sit out for the remainder of the season.
McGowan had surgery Thursday in Cincinnati, Ohio, to repair fraying of the labrum in his throwing shoulder. During the operation, McGowan was to have his right rotator cuff examined to determine if there is further damage in that area. As of press time, no report had been given on the outcome of the surgery.
McGowan was pulled during the June 9 game against the
Baltimore Orioles after throwing only 66 pitches. The next day, he
was placed on the 15-day disabled list but had hoped to return after
the All-Star break. However, upon ex-amination by two doctors, McGowan was told his injury required surgery.
Initially McGowan was placed on the DL list for a tear in his rotator cuff. At that point an MRI was completed and those results were compared to test taken last year. In looking at that test, it was reported that, the tear was no worse. The loss of McGowan has definitely hurt his team, and him not being able to pitch has really become a factor since his teammate Jesse Litsch was recently demoted to the Jay's Triple-A team, Syracuse.
McGowan had made 19 starts before being placed on the DL, and in those starts he had a 6-7 record with an ERA of 4.37.  He had pitched in 111-1/3rd innings and had struck out 85 batters.
Toronto is currently in fourth place in the American League
East with a 54-53 record,
8-1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays who sit at 62-44.  In the AL Wildcard Race, the Blue Jays are in 6th place, 6-1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, who have a 61-47 mark.