Braves starter Mike Soroka suffered a torn right Achilles’ tendon and will miss the rest of the season. The right-hander was injured during Monday’s game against the Mets. Soroka came off the mound on his way to cover first base, went down and eventually had to be helped off the field.
“Torn right Achilles and he’ll miss the rest of the year,” manager Brian Snitker said after the game. “When I went out there (on the field), he knew it was that.”
Soroka delivered a pitch to J.D. Davis in the third inning. Davis hit a ground ball, and Soroka immediately tried to run off the mound to cover first for a potential double play. Soroka fell awkwardly during the transition. He briefly stood up and tried to walk but limped. He sat down again until he was helped off the field.
“I heard (Soroka) yell, and then I also heard, ‘No one is covering first’ from the (Mets') first base coach,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “That’s when I looked back and saw him on the ground. Didn’t know what the injury was until he got up and couldn’t walk. I kind of figured because I’ve seen it before.
“If he can’t walk off the field, you know it’s pretty serious. The mood wasn’t great and still isn’t great. It’s tough. It just stinks. It really does.”
Chris Rusin replaced Soroka and finished the inning. The Mets scored four times in the frame, taking a 4-0 lead, and went on to win 7-2. It snapped the Braves’ five-game winning streak.
Snitker made the announcement of the extent of Soroka’s injury following the game. He did not know if the tendon was partially or completely torn.
“He’s young and he’s strong, so I’m sure he’ll come back stronger than ever,” Snitker said. “Somebody else is going to get an opportunity. Things like that happen. These guys will regroup and somebody will get an opportunity to do something really good. We have some young guys who will continue to get better and we’re going to be fine.”
Soroka, who turns 23 on Tuesday, made his first opening-day start this season. The right-hander was an All-Star in 2019 and accumulated a 2.68 ERA across 29 starts.
“To sum it up, this night just sucks,” an emotional Freeman said. “When you lose one of the top pitching arms in this entire game for the whole season, it’s pretty tough. He was just about to take off. He was unbelievable as a rookie last year and he was off to an incredible start again.”
