Braves starter Drew Smyly considered day-to-day

Braves starter Drew Smyly throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola/AP)

Credit: Chris Szagola

Credit: Chris Szagola

Braves starter Drew Smyly throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Philadelphia. (Chris Szagola/AP)

Braves left-hander Drew Smyly is considered day-to-day after exiting his start early Saturday due to left knee pain. Smyly left after four scoreless innings in the Braves’ 15-3 win.

Smyly was further evaluated Sunday. He suffered no structural damage, manager Brian Snitker said. The team will see how he feels in the coming days before determining whether he’ll make his next start.

“Until he gets on the mound and throws his side (session), then we’ll know for sure,” Snitker said. “There wasn’t anything that came out of the checkup. Hopefully he’s good. We’ll know more when he’s running around (Monday) and he throws his side. We’ll make our determination then.”

Smyly said of his injury Saturday: “It just started feeling tight, kind of like a pull, throughout that fourth inning. I was able to get through it. Just after talking with the trainers and coaches after that inning, we thought it was best to take it to the house and make sure everything is OK before you do anything worse.”

The day-to-day declaration was good news for Smyly and his team. The southpaw owns a 2.40 ERA across his past eight starts. The Braves have won seven of those outings. Smyly’s next turn is against the Mets during the Braves’ upcoming pivotal series in Queens this week.

7
D
15
H
53
M
48
S
Home Opener