While it’s always great to win a series in baseball, it was a very painful series for the Atlanta Braves this weekend with several key injuries.
The Atlanta Braves desperately needed a series win over the Chicago Cubs this past weekend after losing three-of-four to the Miami Marlins at home.
And with the way the Cubs offense had been struggling, it seemed like a good time for the pitching staff to get on track.
Well, then half of the starting rotation went down with Max Fried and Drew Smyly hitting the IL. And there is currently no timetable for Mike Soroka‘s return.
Instead, the Braves had Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa, and Bryse Wilson start in this series. None were exactly great, but the Braves still managed to win the series.
But as I mentioned, the cost of winning this series was very high.
Sean Newcomb, who was starting to turn himself into a really reliable bullpen arm again, but was suddenly placed on the IL. However, it sounds like he was just exposed to someone with COVID-19 and could be back soon if he doesn’t test positive.
Ender Inciarte, who was actually off to a good start this year and getting every day at-bats with Cristian Pache injured, exited Friday’s game with a hamstring injury.
As hard as we can be as fans on Ender sometimes, I do really love him and want him to succeed. It was really difficult and emotional watching him come off that field on Friday.
If that weren’t enough, Ozzie Albies had to leave the game on Saturday with a calf injury. It sounds like this isn’t anything major he could be back as soon as Tuesday.
And then to add the cherry on top, Ronald Acuna Jr. gets hurt in Sunday’s finale and has to exit the game with an abdominal strain.
Again, we’re hoping that is nothing series and they certainly downplayed it after the game, but you hate to see nagging injuries like this popping up two weeks into the season when players are supposed to be fresh.
You have to wonder how their bodies will react to a long season after playing such a short season in 2020.
While I don’t understand having two off days in one week this early in the season, those off days certainly come at a great time for the Braves. Hopefully some of these guys will get the rest they need and these injuries won’t turn into anything serious.