It's been a rough few days for phenomenal starting pitchers. Sunday, Roy Halladay went down (and now he's going to be out for a while). Monday, Jered Weaver lasted only 10 pitches against the Yankees before exiting with a back injury.

Now the test results are back, and Weaver's going to miss some time:

Jered Weaver has been placed on the 15-day D.L. with a lower back strain with spasms. Garrett Richards has been called up.

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 29, 2012

No prognosis yet, and of course back injuries are notoriously difficult to predict. Like Halladay, Weaver's been particularly durable in recent seasons, and maybe this is merely a quick 15-day blip. Or maybe he'll ... well, let's not speculate about terrible things that might happen.

Garrett Richards struggled during both his short stints with the Angels last season, and his star has fallen somewhat. Once considered a top prospect, Richards has a 4.31 ERA this spring in his first exposure to Class AAA hitters, with an uninspiring 1.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. But with no other potential starters on the Angels' 25-man roster, it sure looks like Richards will fill Weaver's slot for a while.