Nats’ Ramos to miss playoffs
World Series hopes take a blow after catcher tears ACL.
The Washington Nationals’ World Series hopes took a serious hit Tuesday when AllStar catcher Wilson Ramos was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee.
Ramos is out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, taking one of the most consistent power bats out of Washington’s lineup. He was hitting .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Manager Dusty Baker said Ramos will soon have surgery to repair the ligament, which he tore during an awkward landing while catching a relay throw Monday night. It’s the same knee Ramos had two surgeries on in 2012 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament.
“There’s never an opportune time,” Baker said. “This was the most inopportune time for this to happen.”
The NL East champions will use Pedro Severino and Jose Lobaton at catcher.
Washington begins Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Dodgers on Oct. 7.
■ Starter A.J. Cole was suspended for five games and fined for throwing a pitch near the head of the Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang on Saturday.
Reds: Steve Selsky went 5 for 5 with a homer Monday to become the first Reds rookie with five hits in a game since Wade Rowdon against the Mets on July 9, 1986.
Blue Jays: Reliever Joaquin Benoit will miss the rest of the regular season after tearing his left calf muscle when he tripped and fell while running in from the bullpen during one of two benches-clearing incidents Monday against the Yankees. Benoit expects to be out for at least two to three weeks, meaning he likely won’t pitch again unless the Blue Jays make deep playoff run.
Royals: Dillon Gee has two blood clots and will not pitch again this season.
Mets: Left-hander Steven Matz (shoulder) was examined by a doctor and isn’t expected to pitch this week, making it unlikely he’ll be available in the postseason.
Astros: Outfielder Colby Rasmus, who hasn’t played since Sept. 18, is done for the season because of hip and groin injuries.
Cubs: Right-hander Kyle Hendricks has not allowed more than three runs in 22 consecutive starts.
Cardinals: Monday’s loss to the Reds drew 34,942 fans to Busch Stadium. It was the first time in 240 regular-season games (since Sept. 24, 2013) the Cardinals failed to draw at least 40,000.
Rangers: A Japanese court convicted the brother of pitcher Yu Darvish of gambling on hundreds of baseball games last year. Sho Darvish, 27, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, but it was suspended for five years.