Braves might have lost AJ Smith-Shawver for the year during doubleheader split with Phillies

“Doesn’t look good,” manager Brian Snitker said after the game.

The Braves split Thursday’s doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park. They lost the first game, 5-4, before blowing out the Phillies in the second game, 9-3. Atlanta lost two of three here to a Phillies team that didn’t have superstar Bryce Harper.

In that third inning of the first game, Smith-Shawver was drilled in the Achilles tendon in his right foot by a comeback off the bat of Bryson Stott. He hopped around after it, and assistant athletic trainer Jeff Stevenson and Snitker went out to check on him. After a few warm-up pitches, Stevenson and Snitker went back to the dugout.

Smith-Shawver then faced Trea Turner. From the dugout, it appeared Spencer Strider noticed something was wrong with Smith-Shawver’s arm after the first pitch to Turner. Strider went over to Snitker and pitching coach Rick Kranitz and urged them to take out Smith-Shawver. Then Strider got Smith-Shawver’s attention, and from the mound, Smith-Shawver gestured that he was indeed injured.

That’s when Stevenson and Snitker returned to the mound to remove Smith-Shawver – after Turner flied out to the warning track after Smith-Shawver’s fourth pitch to him. The television cameras caught Smith-Shawver saying he felt something “pop” when he was talking to the group surrounding him on the mound.

“Yeah, he did,” Snitker said. “He said, ‘I felt it pop on a pitch to Turner.’ I didn’t know if he meant his elbow or I thought maybe his Achilles or his foot was bothering him. When I heard that, it was like, ‘Well, you’re done.’”

Smith-Shawver’s first pitch to Turner was a 95.9-mph fastball. Then he threw a 94.7-mph fastball. Two pitches later, he hurled a 94.2-mph fastball. His velocity had dropped from earlier in the outing, when he threw 10 fastballs over 98 mph.

Sometimes, pitchers can compensate for another injury, which causes disruption in the kinetic chain and puts more stress on the arm. Asked if something like this occurred, Snitker didn’t believe so. He thought it was an isolated incident with the elbow.

“No, I think it’s just one of them things,” Snitker said. “I don’t think it was anything to do with that. I think that was just something that was a byproduct of (how) his velocity has been really, really good. I don’t think it was that. I think it was just something that was probably destined to happen.”

Had Smith-Shawver dealt with any arm soreness or tightness this season?

“Nope. Not that I’m aware of, no,” Snitker said. “That’s usually what happens: A guy will throw a pitch and there’s no warning or anything like that, and then they feel something. That’s why we gotta get him checked out and see what’s going on.”

But it doesn’t look good?

“I don’t think anytime you hear those words – when they describe soreness and ‘I felt something pop’ that’s usually not real good,” Snitker said. “But we gotta look at it first.”

The Braves will know more on Friday after Smith-Shawver’s MRI. If he indeed tore his ulnar collateral ligament, he would need Tommy John surgery or the internal brace procedure. The former requires 12 to 18 months of rehab, and the latter takes around a year for pitchers to return. Smith-Shawver hasn’t yet had Tommy John surgery in his young career.

It would be a major bummer if the injury were serious, as is feared.

After allowing two runs – both on a home run – over 2 2/3 innings on Thursday, Smith-Shawver has a 3.86 ERA. This has been a promising year for the 22-year-old flamethrower. Before Thursday, he had a 3.21 ERA over his last five starts, including one in which he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Reds.

With Strider sidelined earlier in the season and Reynaldo López still on the injured list, Smith-Shawver’s emergence – which went toward validating his top prospect status – was encouraging for the Braves. The club thought Smith-Shawver had been developing nicely and could continue as a rotation piece. The evidence there: When Strider returned from a hamstring strain, the Braves chose to option Bryce Elder and keep Smith-Shawver in their rotation.

And on Thursday, Smith-Shawver might’ve suffered a season-ending injury.

“It stinks,” catcher Sean Murphy said. “He’s been throwing the ball so well. He threw an awkward pitch and he shook his arm out. It was a little weird. You could just tell something was off there.”

Murphy recalled Smith-Shawver saying he was fine after the comebacker hit his foot. “So, usually when pitchers tell you that, they’re serious,” Murphy added. “They feel it when something hurts.” Smith-Shawver continued pitching, then needed to come out of the game.

“He said something in his arm didn’t feel right,” Murphy said. “I don’t know what that is right now.”

In the second game, Chris Sale spun six scoreless innings – lowering his ERA to 3.06 – to stabilize matters while Atlanta’s offense pounded Philadelphia pitching. Sale also accomplished something himself.

Sale earned his 2,500th strikeout to end his outing. Sale is the fastest pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts by innings pitched in MLB history, doing it in 2,026 innings. (Randy Johnson, who previously held the record, did it in 2,107 2/3 frames.)

“I appreciate it,” Sale said of the accomplishment. “I’m not much for numbers, but I definitely appreciate it. For me, it’s the satisfaction in all the people that got me to this point. Just very thankful for all my coaches, all my teammates, catchers, and trainers – Lord knows I spent a lot of time with them. It took a lot to get to this point, and I’m just thankful for all those people."

Added Snitker: “It’s amazing what he’s doing. I mean, he’s kind of doing Hall-of-Fame stuff. It seems like we’re throwing every ball out and all that kind of stuff. Yeeah, it’s special. That guy’s probably as big a baseball fan as anybody that you’d know. Just the history of the game, the competition. He’s a ballplayer, and it’s really cool to watch.”

Growing up, Sale idolized Johnson. And on this night, he jumped ahead of him on the list of the fastest pitchers to reach that mark.

Let that sink in.

“That just blows me away,” Snitker said. “The guy that’s behind him is pretty good. No, it’s amazing what he’s doing. He’s doing historical things, obviously. I couldn’t be happier for the person – just the professional, the competitor, the teammate. For him, too, it’s all about the name on the front of the jersey with that guy, because when he goes out there, he’s out there to win for his ballclub."

The Braves scored six runs off Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. In two games against Wheeler this season, the Braves have scored 11 runs. Wheeler has only allowed 14 runs combined in his 10 other starts, and came into Thursday on a streak of three consecutive scoreless starts.

The Braves ended the day on a high note. Still, they might’ve lost a starting pitcher for the year.

Everyone hopes for the best.

But right now, hope might not be enough.

“It’s a shame,” Snitker said. “Hopefully it’s nothing huge, but I don’t know – these things usually are never that.”