Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Uh Oh Uehara
The Red Sox have had their bullpen depth tested over the past several weeks with Craig Kimbrel and Junichi Tazawa on the disabled list. Things got even worse on Tuesday.
Koji Uehara, who had been filling in for Kimbrel in the ninth inning, was forced to leave Tuesday’s game with a strained right pectoral muscle. Red Sox manager John Farrell was non-committal afterwards, saying, “I can’t tell you at this time how much time Koji will miss”. He’ll almost certainly require a trip to the disabled list.
Kimbrel is sidelined for the next 3-6 weeks after undergoing a left knee arthroscopy and partial medial meniscectomy on Monday. Tazawa is expected to be activated from the disabled list on Friday, but will return to his customary setup role. That should make Brad Ziegler the man to own in the Red Sox bullpen for the next several weeks.
Ziegler, who was acquired from the Diamondbacks on July 9, hasn’t allowed a run in three innings of work since joining the Red Sox. He needs to be scooped up immediately in any mixed leagues where he may have been dropped after the trade from Arizona.
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Kershaw suffers setback
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced Tuesday that Clayton Kershaw has been shut down indefinitely after experiencing renewed discomfort in his back.
The star southpaw threw 60 pitches in a simulated game on Saturday but didn’t feel great afterwards. That soreness has lingered into Tuesday, forcing Kershaw back to Los Angeles to rest.
Roberts elaborated, “I don’t know if it’s a step back, but we’re going to let the back pain subside and see where we go”, terming his status uncertain.
Kershaw has been on the shelf since June 26 with a herniated disc in his lower back. At this stage, there is no clear timetable for a potential return. Julio Urias is expected to start for the Dodgers on Thursday.
The Dodgers are going to exercise extreme caution and take every possible caution with their franchise hurler, but at the same time they’re trying to remain in the thick of the National League playoff race. Entering play on Wednesday, the Dodgers trail the Giants by five games in the race for the National League West crown and are clinging to the top Wild Card spot by one game over the Marlins.
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Pujols turns back the clock
Albert Pujols had a vintage performance in Sunday’s victory over the Rangers, clobbering a pair of three-run homers to pace the Angels offense.
The 36-year-old slugger erased an early 3-0 deficit with a three-run blast off of Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning, pulling the Angels even. He was back at it again the following frame, after a triple from Kole Calhoun and an intentional walk to Mike Trout, Pujols victimized Lohse for another massive three-run home run, putting the Angels ahead to stay.
Pujols seems to have found his power stroke over the All-Star break, as he’s fresh off of another multi-homer game on Sunday against the White Sox.
The batting average isn’t quite where he’d like it to be, but he has been an extremely productive bat in the middle of the Halos’ lineup this season. With Tuesday’s three-hit attack, Pujols is now hitting .252/.331/.447 with 19 homers and 71 RBI on the season.
He also suffered a scary moment later in the game, as he was nearly drilled in the face by a Tony Barnette fastball in this seventh inning. The ball luckily glanced off of the brim of his helmet and Pujols’ forehead. He remained in the game, and was in good spirits about the incident, cracking a smile while at first base.
American League Quick Hits: Royals pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer will undergo season ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome… The Rangers have been receiving “tons of calls” on Jurickson Profar according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, though they appear reluctant to deal him… Chris Davis (illness) remained out of the Orioles lineup… The O’s designated the once-promising Henry Urrutia for assignment… Orioles prospect Hunter Harvey will have his right elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews, which could be a precursor to Tommy John surgery… Michael Brantley is experiencing renewed discomfort in his surgically-repaired right shoulder… Nick Tropeano was diagnosed with a UCL tear in his right elbow and is expected to require Tommy John surgery… Jose Bautista (toe) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday and is targeting a return to the Jays on Monday… Marco Estrada (back) is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays’ rotation on Friday against the Mariners… Rich Hill (blister) remains uncertain for his next start… David Ortiz clubbed his 23rd homer as the Red Sox shut out the Giants… Rick Porcello fired 6 1/3 shutout innings to earn the victory there… Starlin Castro homered and plated four as the Yankees crushed the O’s… Tommy Milone carried a shutout into the ninth inning in a victory over the Tigers… Francisco Lindor homered and scored three runs as the Indians beat the Royals… Todd Frazier crushed his 27th homer in a win over the Mariners… Josh Reddick delivered a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning to beat the Astros… Robinson Chirinos belted a pair of home runs in a losing effort against the Rangers… Edwin Encarnacion swatted a three-run blast to beat the Diamondbacks.
National League Quick Hits: Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Nationals have expressed interest in Charlie Blackmon… Hyun-Jin Ryu landed on the 15-day disabled list with left elbow tendinitis… Francisco Cervelli (hand) was activated from the disabled list… Jhonny Peralta was placed on the disabled list with another left thumb injury… Lucas Duda (back) resumed running on Monday and is targeting a return in mid-August… Julio Urias will rejoin the Dodgers for a spot start on Thursday… Zack Greinke (oblique) played catch without any issues on Tuesday and could rejoin the D’Backs rotation next week… Tyson Ross (shoulder, ankle) played long toss on Tuesday… Tuesday’s game between the Padres and Cardinals was postponed due to rain; it will be made up as part of a double header on Wednesday… Hunter Pence (hamstring) could resume his rehab assignment on Wednesday… Jeurys Familia improved to a perfect 33-for-33 in save chances, escaping a bases loaded, no-out jam against the Cubs… Joey Votto reached base in all five plate appearances in a loss to the Braves… Chase Utley homered and drove home three runs as the Dodgers doubled up the Nationals 8-4 on Tuesday… Reynaldo Lopez surrendered six runs on 10 hits over 4 2/3 innings in his big league debut, though he did strike out nine… Scott Kazmir struck out eight over seven innings of one-run ball in a victory against the Nats… Jim Johnson blew his first save chance since taking over for Arodys Vizcaino on Tuesday, allowing two runs on four hits against the Reds. That could open the door for Mauricio Cabrera.
