Wrist injury likely sending Astros' Springer to DL
The Houston Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday, wrapping up an impressive three-game sweep of the AL's top club - but it came with a price.
Dynamic outfielder George Springer left the game after being hit in the wrist by an Edinson Volquez offering and suffering what the club called a 'wrist contusion'.
After the game, manager A.J. Hinch told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that a disabled list stint seems inevitable: “Your hand goes numb a little bit when you get hit by 96 miles per hour or whatever it was, and so it didn't feel very good. He went out to the outfield (in the sixth inning). He had a little bit of mobility, and then it just got really stiff and really swelled up."
Hinch added to Ortiz that that he knew he wouldn't let Springer try to hit again: "We sent him for tests, and I'm not optimistic that he's going to avoid the DL."
Second baseman Jose Altuve noted that the potential loss of Springer would be tough since, as Altuve said, "To me, he's the spark plug for this team. He's the one who is always rallying the guys."
Springer missed a chunk of the 2014 season - his rookie year - with various issues partly caused by his hard-nosed playing style, but this new injury was the result of no fault of his own. It'd be a blow to the Astros to miss Springer's presence in the lineup, as he's hitting .263/.363/.456 with 13 home runs on the year, not to mention providing stellar defense on a daily basis.