SAN DIEGO -- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy left Saturday night's 11-8 victory over the San Diego Padres with right elbow tightness.
McCarthy waved to the Dodgers' dugout immediately after releasing a pitch that Justin Upton pummeled over the center-field fence for a three-run home run in the sixth inning. McCarthy shook his arm as he walked off the field accompanied by the trainer and manager Don Mattingly.
McCarthy, whom the Dodgers signed to a four-year, $48 million deal in December, has been beset by shoulder injuries in his career, though he has never missed time with an elbow injury.
In 23 innings this season, McCarthy has allowed nine home runs, three of them to Upton. He is 3-0 with a 5.87 ERA.
The Dodgers are already without left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has been out since spring training with shoulder inflammation. Scott Baker is scheduled to make a start in Ryu's place Sunday. He will be the seventh starting pitcher the Dodgers have used this season.
McCarthy said he had been dealing with elbow pain since his last start against the Colorado Rockies. He is hoping it is just tendinitis, something he was able to pitch through in 2014, but the team has scheduled an MRI for Monday in Los Angeles. He will be examined by team physician Neal ElAttrache.
McCarthy, who touched 95 mph earlier this season, was pitching at around 90 mph Friday.
"I dealt with something similar last year and it just kind of works its way out," McCarthy said. "I was just working with that thought and today it just got to a point where stuff was diminishing and pain was really increasing."
Mattingly said it's too soon to determine if McCarthy will be headed for the 15-day disabled list or even will miss his next start, but he admitted it was something to be concerned about.
Mattingly said Dodgers trainers told him the ligament appeared to be sound in their initial tests.
"It's not a great feeling, but there's obviously not a whole lot we're going to know tonight," Mattingly said.