Angels shortstop Zach Neto departs with right shoulder injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Angels shortstop Zach Neto left Thursday's 7-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox because of right shoulder irritation.

Neto got hurt when he tried to take second on a pitch in the dirt in the fourth inning. He was aboard on a one-out infield single.

The 23-year-old Neto stayed on the ground after he was tagged out. He was helped to his feet before returning to the dugout.

“I’m not worried about it,” Neto said. "Of course it’s something I want to keep my eye on, but nothing that’s gonna keep me out for too long.”

Jack López moved from second base to shortstop after Neto departed, and Michael Stefanic came in to play second. López committed a costly error in Chicago's seven-run fifth inning.

Neto, a first-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, is batting .249 with 23 homers, 77 RBIs and 30 steals in 155 games this season.

“Just shoulder soreness. He dove and his shoulder got a little soreness in it," manager Ron Washington said. "And since he just did it, I’m not going to push him out there tomorrow, whether he can go or not. You’ve got to take care of him.”

Los Angeles also played without first baseman Nolan Schanuel in the series finale. Schanuel fouled a ball off his right leg in the first inning of Wednesday night’s 4-3 loss.

“He’s moving around better,” Washington said. “We’ll see where he is when we get back to Anaheim.”

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