DETROIT — In the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, a scary scene unfolded.
In the top of the sixth, Miguel Cabrera’s 99.6-mph comebacker struck Braves pitcher Jesse Chavez on the left shin bone. Chavez immediately went down, and stayed there for a couple moments.
Eventually, athletic trainers George Poulis and Jeff Stevenson had to carry Chavez off the field. They held up his left leg and walked him toward the dugout. Chavez couldn’t put any weight on that leg.
After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker said Chavez’s X-rays were negative. Chavez went to a local hospital to undergo further tests. Snitker said the Braves should know more “later.”
“You’re always concerned when anybody gets hit like that,” Snitker said. “That ball was smoked, too.”
Chavez entered in the sixth inning in relief of Spencer Strider. He threw only four pitches before Cabrera, the first batter he faced, hit a one-hopper right to Chavez. The comebacker took out Chavez’s legs, and he remained on the mound in pain for a minute or so.
“That sucks,” said Spencer Strider, who started the first game of the doubleheader. “He’s going to get imaging and stuff, so hopefully everything turns out OK. But he’s not feeling too good, so I’m hoping for the best.”
Chavez, who turns 40 years old in August, is certainly an All-Star candidate. Over 29 innings before Wednesday, he had a 1.55 ERA. He has pitched in any and every situation for the Braves.
He’s invaluable, both in the clubhouse and on the mound.
