 
10/09/2002 9:52 pm ET
Salmon leaves with sore hamstring
By Tom Singer / MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- Tim Salmon had waited 1,488 Major League games to make it into his first postseason.
Tim Salmon
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It took only 11 innings on the Metrodome's harsh artificial turf to get him out of it -- only briefly, the Angels hope.
The Anaheim right fielder had to be removed from Wednesday night's Game 2 of the ALCS in the third inning when his right hamstring muscle tightened up.
Orlando Palmeiro took Salmon's place in right field before the Twins batted in the third inning.
Salmon had flied out to right in the top of the inning, but couldn't take his defensive position, his hamstring defeated by the last remaining AstroTurf field in the American League.
With the ALCS venue switching to Edison Field following Thursday's bye, the Angels hope Salmon got off his feet quickly enough to enable him to return to the lineup for Friday's Game 3.
Salmon did not play a part in the Angels' early attack against Rick Reed, for a 4-0 lead after four innings.
On his first at-bat in the first inning, he flew out to center. He had entered the game lifetime 1-for-12 against Reed.
The right hamstring has not been a source of recent trouble for Salmon, though he did spend two weeks on the disabled list in 1994 after straining it.
Palmeiro, the Angels' busiest bat off the bench (8-for-28 as a pinch-hitter during the regular season), did not make an appearance during Anaheim's four-game triumph over the Yankees in the Division Series.
The left-handed hitting reserve outfielder made his first postseason appearance in Game 1 of this ALCS, striking out as a pinch-hitter against Joe Mays.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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