Mariners injury updates: Latest on Seager, Cruz and Segura
Jun 28, 2018, 12:02 PM | Updated: 3:49 pm
Mariners 3B Kyle Seager is 5 for his last 10 but dealing with a toe injury. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners got one slugger back for Thursday’s series finale in Baltimore, but another took his place on the bench.
Nelson Cruz was penciled back in the lineup at his usual designated hitter position after missing a pair of games with lower back tightness, but a new injury to Kyle Seager had the third baseman missing a start against the Orioles.
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A toe ligament issue is bothering Seager, and it’s not particularly great timing for him to miss a game as he was 5 for 10 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs in his previous two contests.
“He’s sore. He messed up the toe a little bit last night on a swing that he took,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said before Thursday’s game. “He had some pictures of it taken after the game. He actually has the same thing that Dee Gordon had earlier in the year. Ligament pulls a little piece of the bone away. … Not quite as severe as what Dee had.”
While Gordon needed a short stint on the 10-day disabled list with his toe injury, that is not a consideration for Seager.
“Dee’s game is so driven by speed, Kyle not so much,” Servais said. “It’s something he can play through, but thought it best talking to our medical people to give him the day off today.”
Shortstop Jean Segura, who appeared to tweak his back one pitch ahead of doubling off the wall in center field in Wednesday’s 8-7 Mariners win, was back in the lineup Thursday. Servais said Segura simply had a cramp, which he credited to the humid weather in Baltimore.
“This is really the first hot, muggy day we’ve ran into all year,” Servais said, noting that an advantage of playing home games in Seattle is avoiding muggy conditions. “We’ll be prepared for it today.”
Cruz homered and drove in three runs in his return Thursday, helping the Mariners complete a sweep of the Orioles with a 4-2 victory in 10 innings. Seager pinch-hit for Andrew Romine in the ninth and played the final two innings at third base.
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