Shortstop Erick Aybar was scratched from the Braves original lineup Tuesday with bruised ribs after being struck by a pitch Monday night.
Chase d’Arnaud moved from second base to shortstop and Jace Peterson was added to the lineup at second base, batting eighth in the second game of series against the Reds.
Aybar was hit in his right side by a 97-mph fastball from Blake Wood, an Atlanta native and former Georgia Tech standout who pitched two scoreless innings with no hits and one walk.
Aybar went to the ground and stayed there for a minute or two, then went to first base. He stayed in the game, but the soreness in his side worsened overnight.
“He got pasted,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re lucky that he didn’t crack a rib or something like that. I figured he’d be sore as far as the rotational type things – throwing, swinging a bat – for a couple of days. Hopefully they can work on him and if something happens we can use him if we need him later on this evening. But it’s too sore to go out there and then in two innings have to shut it down.”
Aybar said X-rays were taken and came back negative. He called it “just a bruise.”
“Just some minor discomfort,” he said through a translator. “Didn’t want to go out there and risk it, for the team or myself. Just playing it safe more than anything.”
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