Braves right fielder Jason Heyward left the game Wednesday after he was hit on the left thumb with a pitch but he said X-rays were negative for a fracture.
Heyward stayed in the game after Nationals reliever Ross Detwiler hit him in the sixth inning. He played his position in the top of the seventh but Joey Terdoslavich pinch hit for him in the bottom of the inning.
“It definitely swelled up as time went,” Heyward said. “I couldn’t throw. Gripping the bat was out of the question. If I could have thrown I probably would have gone to the plate and stood there and (then) played defense. But I couldn’t do it.”
The Braves are off Thursday before playing host to the Mets for a weekend series. Heyward wasn’t ready to say he’d be back in the lineup on Friday.
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Once the swelling is in there it’s tough to get it out.”
