On Sunday, Oakland Athletics left-hander Brett Anderson was shelled by the Boston Red Sox, giving up five earned runs in five innings. His velocity has been declining as the season has gone on. And now the Contra Costa Times has word that this might not just be part of the typical trials and tribulations of a young pitcher:

I’ve confirmed with multiple team sources that A’s pitcher Brett Anderson is heading back to the Bay Area to get his left elbow checked. It makes sense, given Anderson’s dip in velocity with both his fastball and slider recently.

Oof. Bad news for an A's team that was already struggling to win on an East Coast road trip. If there's any consolation, it's that just because a team is looking at elbow smoke doesn't mean there's elbow fire. But the A's have already had terrible luck with their pitchers, with Tyson Ross, Brandon McCarthy, and Dallas Braden all suffering significant injuries this year, so any news that Anderson isn't exactly 100% is pretty unfortunate.