As we write this, the Atlanta Braves are continuing their dominance of the Rockies thanks to a grand slam off the bat of Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies chipping in with a solo homer of his own. However, not all of the news has been good today as Sean Murphy was forced to leave the game early.
Looked like Sean Murphy might have tweaked his hammy as he rounded first base. He walked off the field under his own power. Will let you know when an update is available. pic.twitter.com/6PEaSvzW9L
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 17, 2023
The good news here is that it doesn't look like there was anything particularly serious going on. Murphy lined a ball to the wall and pretty clearly pulled up a bit awkwardly as he rounded first base. Bow's guess is a good one that he likely felt something in his hamstring and with the Braves not in a place to force the issue, they pulled him from the game and slotted Travis d'Arnaud in.
We'll provide updates as they become available, but Murphy was able to leave the field under his own power without too much difficulty. Travis d'Arnaud is obviously a very capable catcher and should be able to handle things in the short-term.
The Braves, in fact, are one of the few teams that have two legitimately good catchers on their roster and that was very useful earlier this season when TdA was on the injured list while dealing with a concussion. If Murphy has to miss significant time, it is likely that the Braves will again turn to Chadwick Tromp down in Gwinnett to serve as their backup while Murph gets healthy.
Fun fact: in the short time it took to put this article together, the Braves hit two more homers and now lead 9-0 after the third inning. While crazier things have happened, we like the Braves' chances in this one even with Sean Murphy out the rest of the way.