Braves pitcher Brandon McCarthy showed no lingering effects from a Wednesday shoulder injury when he did his regular running Friday morning at Wrigley Field, and manager Brian Snitker reiterated the veteran right-hander was expected to make his next scheduled start.
McCarthy left Wednesday’s game at Washington sustained a subluxation, or partial dislocation, of his left (non-throwing) shoulder while making a catch on a routine play as he ran to cover first base.
The 34-year-old dealt with similar injuries twice last season with the Dodgers and had one stint on the 10-day disabled list for the issue.
It’s a problem that McCarthy said will have to be surgically repaired at some point to prevent repeat episodes and return stability to the shoulder, but he didn’t want to have the procedure before this season, the final year of his contract and his first season with the Braves after he was acquired from the Dodgers in a December trade. He’s 2-0 with a 3.31 ERA in three starts, all Braves wins.
McCarthy said because he went through the uncomfortable injury twice before, he knew when it happened this time exactly what it was and that he probably would be sore a couple of days, but wouldn’t need to miss any time. Braves head trainer George Poulis popped the pitcher’s shoulder back into place on the field right after the incident occurred.
“He says he’ll be good to go next start,” Snitker said. “It’s one of them things, when guys have had those (injuries), they kind of know what it is and what to do. I hate that for him, because I’ve had friends that have had that and it’s a pain to do something simple like that (and get hurt).
“I don’t think he’ll miss anything. I think he should be fine. He even said the other day after he did it, ‘I’ll be fine for my next start.’”
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