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Walker leaves game with dislocated finger
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The Pirates' Neil Walker fell to the ground in pain after getting an injury to his right hand after a double play attempt on the Dodgers' Mark Ellis in the first inning at PNC Park Wednesday night.
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Neil Walker left Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning due to a dislocated finger in his right hand.
Shane Victorino, the leadoff hitter, poked a ball down the third-base line that Josh Harrison bare-handed. His throw on the run went over Garrett Jones at first base and allowed Victorino to reach second. Mark Ellis singled, putting men on first and third.
Matt Kemp hit a broken-bat grounder up the middle that Walker fielded. He sprinted to second base in an attempt to tag the bag and turn a double play, and Ellis collided with him and upended him in the process. Walker appeared to brace his fall with his right arm and stayed on the ground in obvious pain.
Manager Clint Hurdle and the entire defense huddled around him at second base, and he eventually walked off the field with a trainer holding his right wrist. The Pirates later announced that Walker had dislocated a finger on his right hand.
Walker is as durable a player as there are in the majors. He played in 159 games last season and appeared in 113 of the Pirates' 116 games until Wednesday.
Walker also represented a large part of the Pirates' offense in the past month. He is hitting .290 with 14 home runs, and since July 1 was hitting .333 with 10 home runs.
Josh Harrison moved to second base and Pedro Alvarez took over at third. The Pirates are already operating while short one bench player due to the temporary six-man rotation.
First Published August 15, 2012 7:44 pm
