Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell was forced to leave Thursday night's game against the Kansas City Royals after experiencing pain in his upper left side.
Preliminary reports are that the 49-year-old was suffering only from a muscle spasm but the team said he was sent to the hospital for further tests just to make sure.
Don Wakamatsu, the Blue Jays bench coach, said he first noticed that something was amiss with Farrell in the eighth inning of the game at Rogers Centre, in which the Blue Jays went on to lose 9-6.
"I just knew he was moving around a little funny," Wakamatsu said. "I asked him, he said he was struggling a little bit with his side."
Farrell, in his first season as the Blue Jays manager, left the dugout for a spell in the eighth and came back out in the ninth. He left again in the bottom of the ninth
Blue Jays doctors determined that it was just a muscle spasm but the decision was made for Farrell to head to the hospital.
"That's what I told him, go and get it checked," Wakamatsu said.
The Royals continued to own Toronto pitching in the game, pounding out 16 hits in winning the rubber game of the three-game set. The Blue Jays had 10 hits, including home runs by J.P. Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion.
Over the course of the series, the Royals out-hit the Blue Jays by a margin of 41 to 21.
It also marked the first time since 2003 that the Blue Jays have lost a home series against the Royals.
The Blue Jays announced during the game that they have signed un-drafted first baseman Luke Willson from LaSalle, Ont.
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-handed hitter currently attends Rice University where he plays tight end for the Owls. During the 2010 football season the 21-year-old had 33 receptions for 425 yards with three touchdowns.
Willson attended St. Thomas of Villanova High School in LaSalle and played for the Canadian Junior National baseball team in 2008.