Major leagues: Indians’ catcher could be out for ‘months’
A tiny crack in Roberto Pérez’s finger has turned into a large problem for the Indians. Cleveland’s two-time Gold Glove catcher will miss at least two months after surgery Friday on a fractured right ring finger. There is no definitive timeline for Pérez’s recovery, but the Indians are planning to be without him for a significant period. “It’s not weeks,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It’s months.” Pérez played in pain for several weeks with the fracture, which happened when he got crossed up by reliever James Karinchak on April 14 in Chicago. Pérez broke the finger on his throwing hand when he caught the pitch barehanded. Pérez left the Indians’ series this week in Kansas City to visit hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham, who placed three pins in the catcher’s finger to stabilize it. Twins’ Buxton to IL: Outfielder Byron Buxton was put on the 10-day injured list by the Minnesota Twins with a strained right hip. The Twins also announced before Friday’s game at Detroit that they have selected the contract of outfielder Trevor Larnach from Triple-A St. Paul. The injury interrupts a stellar start for the 27-year-old Buxton, who is hitting .370 with nine home runs and five stolen bases. Buxton has played over 100 games just once in his big league career.
National League
Votto to IL: Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a broken left thumb that could sideline him for a month. Votto was struck on the thumb with a pitch by Chicago’s Dallas Keuchel on Wednesday. Votto is not expected to need surgery, but the team expects him to be out at least three weeks and maybe more. The 37-year-old is batting .226 with five homers and 17 RBIs. He batted .286 and hit his 300th career home run on Reds’ recently completed homestand. The Reds also reinstated outfielder Shogo Akiyama from the 10-day injured list. He had been out with a hamstring injury he sustained while running out a ground ball March 13, his last spring training appearance.
Minor leagues
Now this was truly a wild inning. The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers scored 12 runs in the sixth inning on just one hit Thursday night – drawing a whopping 13 walks from a trio of Birmingham Barons relievers, who also hit a batter and threw a pair of wild pitches. “It just got out of control, literally,” longtime Barons radio announcer Curt Bloom said. “And it was contagious.” “It was 87 pitches with 24 strikes. Most of them weren’t even close, really,” he added. All nine hitters in the Biloxi lineup drew walks in the inning, leading the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate to a 14-6 win at Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, took a 2-1 lead into the sixth before pitchers Alec Hansen, Luis Ledo and Anderson Severino lost the plate. At one point, with two outs, 10 straight batters reached – nine walked, one was plunked.
A tiny crack in Roberto Pérez’s finger has turned into a large problem for the Indians.
Cleveland’s two-time Gold Glove catcher will miss at least two months after surgery Friday on a fractured right ring finger. There is no definitive timeline for Pérez’s recovery, but the Indians are planning to be without him for a significant period.
“It’s not weeks,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It’s months.”
Pérez played in pain for several weeks with the fracture, which happened when he got crossed up by reliever James Karinchak on April 14 in Chicago. Pérez broke the finger on his throwing hand when he caught the pitch barehanded.
Pérez left the Indians’ series this week in Kansas City to visit hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham, who placed three pins in the catcher’s finger to stabilize it.
Twins’ Buxton to IL: Outfielder Byron Buxton was put on the 10-day injured list by the Minnesota Twins with a strained right hip.
The Twins also announced before Friday’s game at Detroit that they have selected the contract of outfielder Trevor Larnach from Triple-A St. Paul.
The injury interrupts a stellar start for the 27-year-old Buxton, who is hitting .370 with nine home runs and five stolen bases. Buxton has played over 100 games just once in his big league career.
National League
Votto to IL: Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with a broken left thumb that could sideline him for a month.
Votto was struck on the thumb with a pitch by Chicago’s Dallas Keuchel on Wednesday. Votto is not expected to need surgery, but the team expects him to be out at least three weeks and maybe more.
The 37-year-old is batting .226 with five homers and 17 RBIs. He batted .286 and hit his 300th career home run on Reds’ recently completed homestand.
The Reds also reinstated outfielder Shogo Akiyama from the 10-day injured list. He had been out with a hamstring injury he sustained while running out a ground ball March 13, his last spring training appearance.
Minor leagues
Now this was truly a wild inning.
The Double-A Biloxi Shuckers scored 12 runs in the sixth inning on just one hit Thursday night – drawing a whopping 13 walks from a trio of Birmingham Barons relievers, who also hit a batter and threw a pair of wild pitches.
“It just got out of control, literally,” longtime Barons radio announcer Curt Bloom said. “And it was contagious.”
“It was 87 pitches with 24 strikes. Most of them weren’t even close, really,” he added.
All nine hitters in the Biloxi lineup drew walks in the inning, leading the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate to a 14-6 win at Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, took a 2-1 lead into the sixth before pitchers Alec Hansen, Luis Ledo and Anderson Severino lost the plate. At one point, with two outs, 10 straight batters reached – nine walked, one was plunked.