CHICAGO — A day after his early exit from a loss against the White Sox, Braves pitcher Paul Maholm returned to Atlanta on Sunday to have his sprained left wrist examined by Dr. Gary Lourie, the Braves' hand specialist.
An X-ray taken at U.S. Cellular Field after he left Saturday’s game was negative, showing no break. But the Braves will have Maholm get an MRI and other tests to make sure there’s no torn ligament or other damage that an X-ray might not reveal.
“In those situations, you want your (team doctor to see him),” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “Only thing they did here was an X-ray. So he’ll go home and have a (tests) that cover everything. He’s not going to pitch for four days, so why not have our guy look at him?”
Gonzalez said he still thinks Maholm will avoid a stint on the 15-day disabled list and could make his next scheduled start Thursday against the Mets in a series finale at New York. If he can’t pitch, the Braves would turn to Brandon Beachy, who is 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery, or rookie Alex Wood.
Maholm originally injured his wrist while batting in a July 10 game at Miami. He said it didn’t bother him Saturday until he was warming up before the fourth inning, and he left after giving up hits to the first two batters that inning.
He blew a 4-0 lead when he gave up five runs in the third inning, including a grand slam by Alex Rios. Maholm was charged with seven runs and seven hits in losing his third consecutive start.
After going 6-4 with a 3.38 ERA in his first 10 starts, the veteran lefty is 3-5 with a 5.53 ERA in his past 10, including 0-3 with a 10.13 ERA in three July starts. He is 2-7 with a 7.58 ERA in his past 11 road starts, and his 6.03 road ERA is now the highest in the majors among pitchers with enough innings to qualify.
