Both Ryan Doumit and Freddie Freeman had to leave Sunday’s game early with injuries, but the Braves left Tampa feeling fortunate that neither appeared serious.
Doumit took a foul ball off his bare right hand in the second inning against the Yankees, in an injury that looked – and sounded – bad, but X-rays on his middle finger were negative. He was diagnosed with a right middle finger contusion.
“He was moving it around so…I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to be serious,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said immediately following the game. “The good thing is he kept his fingers loose, there’s some absorption there, and maybe that saved him.”
Freeman got hit in the left hand, his glove hand, by a line drive up the line and also left the game after the second inning. He was diagnosed with a left thumb contusion and said he left the game only for precautionary reasons.
“There’s no point in trying to be a hero in spring training, especially when we’re getting close to the end,” Freeman said. “Just get some ice on it the next couple days and see where we go from there.”
As for Doumit, Freeman said he could hear the foul ball hit Doumit’s finger from first base. Doumit immediately started shaking his right hand and walked off the field after he was hit. He was replaced by Christhian Bethancourt.
With a runner on first base, Doumit had set up to catch the pitch from Julio Teheran with his right hand exposed, rather than behind his glove or his right leg. He was hit flush in the finger by a Pete O’Brien foul tip.
“There’s a fine line,” said Gonzalez, a former minor league catcher. “Where you can put your hand behind the glove or you could put it behind your right shin guards, whichever that he feels comfortable. I think he just got caught (in between), one of those things.”
The Braves traded former first round pick Sean Gilmartin to the Twins for Doumit to serve as a third catcher, corner outfielder and veteran pinch hitter.
Freeman suffered a jammed left thumb last July 14 against the Reds and wasn’t able to play in the All-Star game the first year he was selected. Freeman said this was different because it wasn’t a jam job, but a line drive off the meaty part of his hand.
“This one is not too bad I don’t think,” Freeman said. “So we’ll be all right.”
Teheran on track: Julio Teheran pitched four strong innings, allowing only one run, against the Yankees Sunday and continued his bid to be the Braves Opening Day starter.
The Braves haven’t made it official yet, but if Teheran stays on his normal rest he lines up perfectly to pitch Opening Day in Milwaukee on March 31.
Kris Medlen, who was originally projected to be the Opening Day starter, and Brandon Beachy are both scheduled to see Dr. James Andrews on Monday to learn the extent of their elbow ligament damage and whether they’ll both have to undergo a second Tommy John surgery.
In the meantime the Braves plan to announce how they’ll adjust their rotation coming out of Tuesday’s off day, which should give further confirmation that Teheran will get that March 31 nod.
“I feel ready,” said Teheran, who walked one and struck out five, including three in a row to strand two runners in the first. “I feel like I’ve got my best command. I feel ready for the season and let’s see what they say.”
Pastornicky cleared: Tyler Pastornicky was cleared for his first game action coming off surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament and played in a minor league game Sunday.
After proving to the Braves medical staff Saturday he could slide on that surgically-repaired knee, he got four at-bats Sunday – hitting every inning he played in a minor league game. He played four innings in the field at second base.
Gonzalez said Pastornicky will take Monday off and play in minor league games again Tuesday and Thursday. If all continues to go well, Gonzalez plans to get Pastornicky into one of the Braves’ split-squad games on Friday.
At that point there will be only seven games left before the Braves break camp, so it’s doubtful Pastornicky will be ready to make the major league roster as a backup infielder. That could go to a utility guy like Tyler Greene instead. But the Braves will keep a close eye on Pastornicky and how he progresses in Triple-A Gwinnett.
“The biggest thing is to just make sure he gets out of here healthy,” Gonzalez said. “And if he does and we need something shortly thereafter (bring him up).”
