Aug 26, 2013 6 min read

Matt Harvey has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, a potentially devastating injury for the pitcher that had given the foundering New York Mets reason to be hopeful about their future.

For now, the 24-year-old Harvey and the Mets hope that he will be able to avoid reconstruction surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament. A full prognosis will not be made until swelling in the elbow goes down in about two weeks.

“It was tough. Obviously it was the last thing I was expecting when I went this morning,” Harvey said Monday. “I am going to do everything I can to avoid surgery.”

The National League’s All-Star game starter on his home field this July, Harvey has been experiencing forearm tenderness for a month or two but could not pinpoint exactly when it began. The discomfort increased during his start Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, when he allowed a career-high 13 hits.

Harvey admitted he was tired against the Tigers, the 26th start of his first full season in the major leagues. Manager Terry Collins said he noticed Harvey’s pitches weren’t as crisp, a sign of fatigue.

But Collins didn’t know Harvey had any issues with his forearm until Sunday and the ace went for an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery a day later.

“Nothing is shooting in my elbow at all. That’s not the issue,” Harvey said. “When I heard the news, I was pretty shocked. I’m still very optimistic.”

Harvey wasn’t the only one in the Mets organization stunned by the news.

“This was a surprise to all of us,” general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Forearm pain can foretell problems with the elbow, but in this particular circumstance there had been no indications of that.”

Harvey was not immediately placed on the disabled list. Carlos Torres will take his spot in the rotation and face the Phillies Thursday.

St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 6: Allen Craig hit his first career grand slam with two out in the seventh inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rally for an 8-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. Matt Holliday also had a long three-run homer as St. Louis moved into sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the first time since July 29. The Cardinals lead idle Pittsburgh by a half-game and Cincinnati by 3 games in the top-heavy division. Rookie Carlos Martinez (1-1) pitched two innings for his first major league win and Edward Mujica worked a perfect ninth for his 35th save. Zack Cozart had two hits and three RBI for the Reds, who blew leads of 4-0 and 5-3. Jay Bruce hit his 25th homer in the eighth.

Braves 2B Uggla gets rehab start after eye surgery: Atlanta Braves second baseman Dan Uggla is scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett as he comes back from eye surgery.

Uggla will start from the G-Braves on Monday night when they host the Norfolk Tides in suburban Atlanta.

When he went on the disabled list Aug. 13, Uggla was hitting only .186 with an NL-leading 146 strikeouts. He battled eye problems all season before deciding to have the Lasik procedure.

Tyler Pastornicky initially replaced Uggla in the lineup, but he lasted only two games before a collision with outfielder Jason Heyward left the infielder with a season-ending knee injury. The Braves then claimed Elliot Johnson off waivers from Kansas City to fill the void until Uggla returns.

Atlanta leads the NL East by 13 games.

Cuban newspaper says 1st baseman Abreu defects: An official Cuban newspaper says star first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu has defected to try to play in Major League Baseball.

The weekly Trabajadores newspaper reported Monday that Abreu departed Cuba “illegally and silently” for a Caribbean nation, most likely Haiti or the Dominican Republic. No further details were provided.

The 26-year-old Abreu played in all six games for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic in March, hitting .383 with three home runs and nine RBIs.

Abreu is the fourth Cuban player to defect in the past two months, adding to the departures of first baseman Yozzen Cuesta, and pitchers Misael Siveiro and Odrisamer Despaigne.

Cuban defectors Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig have recently signed multimillion dollar contracts to play in MLB.

Kansas City 11, Tampa Bay 1: The Royals’ Jeremy Guthrie held down Wil Myers and the Tampa Bay Rays over five innings and Kansas City rolled to an 11-1 victory Monday in the makeup of a snowed-out game from early May.

Guthrie (13-10) allowed six hits and three walks but twice delivered timely strikeouts. He fanned Kelly Johnson with two aboard to end the third inning, and then struck out David DeJesus on a called third strike to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.

Rays manager Joe Maddon argued that the call and was tossed by plate umpire Greg Gibson.

Jeremy Hellickson (10-8) allowed five runs in just 2 2-3 innings for Tampa Bay. It was the struggling right-hander’s shortest start since June 30, 2012, when he went the same distance in a game against Detroit before getting pelted in the leg by a line drive.

Toronto 5, New York Yankees 2: R.A. Dickey pitched into the seventh inning, Jose Reyes sparked Toronto’s offense and the Blue Jays snapped a 10-game losing streak against the New York Yankees with a 5-2 victory on Monday night.

Alex Rodriguez hit his 650th home run, a leadoff drive in the fifth, but the Yankees lost for the ninth time in 13 road games this month. Rodriguez is 10 homers away from tying Willie Mays for fourth on the career list, which would secure a $6 million bonus for the third baseman.

Derek Jeter went hitless in his return to New York’s lineup. Jeter, who started at shortstop and batted second, finished 0 for 3 with a walk, grounding into a double play in the third.

Dickey (10-12) allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits in 6 1-3 innings.