Carlos Martinez Hurt Himself Celebrating Jack Flaherty’s Homer, and is Now Going on the Injured List
When you hear the arguments about the designated hitter, and about how it’s too dangerous to expect starting pitchers – so focused on
pitching – to go up there and hit, you don’t so much think about THIS kind of injury.
The Cardinals are going to be without starter Carlos Martinez for a little while. Why? He’s going on the Injured List with an ankle injury. Why? Because he hurt it … celebrating a Jack Flaherty home run:
On #Cardinals duty again today, and we’ve got an injury update. Martínez said he’d hurt his ankle celebrating Jack Flaherty’s home run on Friday. https://t.co/C2hPIT2cmu
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9:56pm CDT
9:56PM: Hicks was experiencing soreness and inflammation in his elbow, manager Mike Shildt told MLB.com’s Ryan Herrera and other reporters.
9:28PM: Cardinals right-hander
Jordan Hicks left tonight’s game due to what the team described as “right arm tightness.” Hicks began the seventh inning and allowed a hit over two-thirds of an inning before leaving the game. As per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Twitter, “Hicks had a noticeable wince and flex of the arm” after tossing his final pitch.
The Cards’ announcement specified that Hicks was removed for precautionary reasons, though that preliminary diagnosis of arm tightness is certainly cause for concern given Hicks’ injury history. The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2019 and didn’t pitch at all in 2020 he opted out of the season due to COVID concerns as a sufferer of Type 1 diabetes, and Hicks’ rehab may have kept from returning to the mound alt
Los Angeles and Milwaukee are 1-2 in the majors in FanGraphs WAR from starting pitching this season, and the No. 3 team is San Francisco, which goes a long way in explaining why the Giants and Dodgers are currently tied atop the NL West. The Brewers and Dodgers are 2-3 in FIP, 3-4 in ERA and strikeout rate, and first and third in K-BB%.
The Dodgers are using a bullpen game Friday, for what will be day nine of a 14-day stretch of games, to give their starters an extra day of rest. This is where the main difference between the two rotations is clear, with Dodgers starters averaging 6.16 innings per game most in the majors while the Brewers are at 5.14 innings.