NEW YORK – At this point, we’re all wondering the same thing: Who did the Braves upset to deserve this awful luck? What did they do? How can they make amends?
It is getting ridiculous at this point.
On Sunday, Reynaldo López exited his start after three innings due to right forearm tightness. The Braves sent him back to Atlanta for an MRI, manager Brian Snitker said. The team should know more on Sunday night.
“We took him out as a precaution because it was bothering him,” Snitker said. “So you don’t know until they get pictures.”
López, the All-Star who leads MLB with a 2.06 ERA, seemed a bit off during his start. But this? He provided no indication that he was dealing with any sort of ailment.
López gave up three hits, and walked a batter, over three scoreless innings. But he wasn’t sharp. Still, his last three four-seam fastballs, in order, registered at 95.5 mph, 96.5 mph and 97.4 mph, so there wasn’t much indication that he was hurt.
“No, I didn’t,” Olson said when asked if he had any indication López was injured. “No, I didn’t see anything different.”
“I was (surprised), because just in the game, I didn’t realize what was going on,” Austin Riley said. “Hate it. Hate it for him. Injuries. Hopefully, go back to Atlanta and figure out what’s going on, and hope it’s nothing serious.”
This season, the Braves have given López a lot of extra rest as he transitions back to starting. Still, Sunday’s start put him at 104 2/3 innings this season – or 38 2/3 innings more than he hurled last season. This is a large increase in workload, even if the Braves have done it as safely as possible.
In the top of the fourth inning on Sunday, when Dylan Lee was warming up in the bullpen, it became clear López’s afternoon was over.
At that point, everyone watching this team shared the same thought: Oh no. Not again.
“You think of, ‘When’s it gonna stop?’” Riley said.
This is the perfect question for a team that has endured more than enough over its first 104 games. The Braves are without Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season. They’ve lost Ozzie Albies for two months. They’re without Michael Harris II, who aims to return in the middle of August. Max Fried is on the injured list, but seems to be trending upward (more soon).
And then the Braves saw López depart after three scoreless innings.
Another injury?
“Yeah, you know, it stinks,” Matt Olson said. “Hopefully, the best for him. He’s obviously been a big part of what we’ve done this year and he’s been a horse for us. It sucks. It kind of feels like every week or every other week, we’re getting some bad news, so definitely hoping for the best here.”
Olson is hardly exaggerating. In the season’s first game, the Braves lost Sean Murphy. A week later, Strider went down. Then Albies fractured a toe days after Strider’s season-ending surgery (though Albies returned after a week). In mid-May, Riley got hurt. In late May, Acuña tore his ACL. A couple weeks after that, Harris landed on the injured list. Recently, Fried went on the injured list.
It’s difficult to believe.
But it has happened, and it has left the Braves fighting for a postseason spot. After defeating the Mets on Sunday, Atlanta has a one-game lead over San Diego for the National League’s top wild card spot. The Braves are 8 1/2 games behind Philadelphia in the NL East standings.
Now, they could be without another starting pitcher about 48 hours before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline. And if they are, then they must hope Fried’s current progress means he’ll soon return. Fried, who is dealing with left forearm neuritis, threw on flat ground in the outfield on Sunday. He’s eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but Snitker didn’t know whether Fried would need to make any rehab starts before doing so.
“Max is feeling better,” Snitker said. “He’s feeling better, so he’ll (ramp) up as (the medical staffers) see fit. But just talking to him the last couple of days, I think he likes where he’s at right now. There’s no timetable or anything like that. We’ll just take it day to day and see where he’s at, but it sounds pretty good.”
This would be great to hear at any time, but especially when the Braves face the possibility of life without López for any time. At this moment, they’re left with Chris Sale, Charlie Morton and Spencer Schwellenbach. The Braves might need to trade for a starter, but the prices for a quality arm will be steep.
Atlanta listed Grant Holmes as Monday’s starter in Milwaukee. Holmes, a part of the Braves’ bullpen thus far, was stretched out in Triple A before the organization promoted him. The Braves didn’t list a starter for Tuesday, and they’ll see how they get there before naming one.
The Braves’ offense has struggled this season, but their pitching staff has kept them afloat. The rotation has pulled a lot of weight.
Now, the Braves could be without López.
“You always can’t be too careful when they start to get tightness and everything,” Snitker said. “You want to get it looked at.”
The Braves’ bad luck seems to be continuing. And when will it end?
Everyone would like to know.
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