Atlanta Braves OF Jason Heyward day-to-day with hand injury
Atlanta Braves outfielder Jason Heyward was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat against the Anaheim Angels on Friday, but X-rays came back negative and he has been diagnosed with a hand contusion, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson hit Heyward with a pitch in the bottom of the first inning. Heyward eventually scored on Evan Gattis’ home run and then took the field in the top of the second inning, seemingly good to go. But Jordan Schafer pinch hit for Heyward in the bottom of the inning, who was taken to the locker room for X-rays and treatment.
The Braves can ill afford to lose Heyward, who has been one of their lone consistent offensive weapons of late. Atlanta is in the midst of a prolonged stretch of poor play, going 4-6 in their last 10 games, and coming off a month of May that saw them go only 13-16.
Heyward is hitting .254 with seven homers, 23 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He has reached base in 29 of 32 games since May 9, and has been listed as day-to-day by the club.
Hopefully for the Braves, Heyward will only need a few days off to rest his hand and let the swelling and pain go down, and won’t need to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Atlanta is currently sitting second in the National League East, one game behind the surging Washington Nationals.