Oft-injured Pollock out 4 to 8 weeks
Arizona’s sputtering offense has taken a severe hit: center fielder A.J. Pollock is expected to miss four to eight weeks with a broken left thumb.
Pollock was injured diving unsuccessfully for Tyler Saladino’s line drive that turned into an inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning of Monday’s 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.
Manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday that Pollock has an avulsion fracture, which occurs where a tendon or ligament attaches to the bone.
The 30-year-old Pollock leads the team with a .293 average, 11 home runs and 33 RBIs. He was an All-Star in 2015 but has not played more than 112 games in a season since because of injuries.
“It’s tough to lose anybody,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said, “but A.J., the way he was playing, it’s a pretty big blow. But nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got to pick up and move on.”
Pollock, who becomes a free agent after this season, missed all but 12 games in 2016 after fracturing his elbow in a headfirst slide at home in the team’s final exhibition game. Last year, he missed nearly two months with a groin injury.
Pitcher hurt in tantrum: Red Sox pitcher Carson Smith dislocated his pitching shoulder during a tantrum and went on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, an injury Boston said could be major.
The 28-year-old right-hander was hurt when he threw his glove in the dugout after leaving Monday night’s 6-5 loss to the A’s. He entered with the Red Sox trailing 5-4 in the eighth, allowed Khris Davis’ leadoff home run, then retired three straight batters.
“He’s very apologetic,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday. “... He threw his glove and when he threw his glove, his shoulder subluxed. And that’s how he got hurt.”
Davis’ homer was the only run allowed by Smith in his past six games and 42⁄3 innings. He is 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 18 appearances this season.
Injuries: Adrian Beltre’s return from the disabled list lasted just five games, as the Rangers put the third baseman back on the DL for the fourth time in two seasons, two days after he aggravated his left hamstring injury. He was hurt on a defensive play Sunday at Houston . ... The Cardinals placed Adam Wainwright back on the 10-day DL after the right-hander struggled with velocity in his last start and said he needed “to pause and get it right.” The 36-year-old was on the DL with elbow inflammation before returning Sunday in San Diego, where he lasted just 21⁄3 innings. ... The Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes was out of the lineup Tuesday with a strained right hip flexor and could be headed to the DL. Cespedes had a precautionary MRI that showed a mild strain.