New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo left his team’s loss to the Boston Red Sox early on Sunday after an awkward collision while running the bases.
Now he’s expected to miss at least two months.
Rizzo sustained a fracture to the radial neck of his right arm on Sunday in Boston, the team confirmed Tuesday while placing him on the injured list officially. Rizzo does not need surgery, however, and expects to be back at some point this season.
“I’ve never gone through this,” Rizzo said Tuesday, via ESPN. “This is my first fracture, bone break, so I assume I will heal fast with the treatment we have, but we’ll see how it feels.”
Rizzo hit a ground ball in the seventh inning of the 9-3 loss and immediately bolted toward first base. As he reached the bag, he collided with Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino and landed awkwardly on his right wrist — which he grabbed immediately as he rolled into the grass.
Rizzo was safe, as Bernardino dropped the toss right before the contact, but he was quickly pulled from the game and replaced by pinch-runner Oswaldo Cabrera.
“We’ll see,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Sunday night. “The initial imaging … was negative, but he’s in some pain in that kind of lower arm in a number of places. Obviously, he’ll get a lot of tests tomorrow and see what we’re dealing with.”
Rizzo, 34, holds a .223 batting average and has eight home runs and 28 RBI this season, his third full year with the Yankees. The injury Sunday was reminiscent of one he sustained last year, when he collided with Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base. That ultimately ended his season early due to post-concussion syndrome.
Although the Yankees were down by just a run when Rizzo left the game, the Red Sox flew ahead to grab a six-run win at Fenway Park, thanks in part to Connor Wong’s two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh. Boston had an incredible nine stolen bases in the win, the most in the league in a single game this season and the most the Yankees have allowed since 1915.
The Yankees have called up prospect Ben Rice to replace Rizzo on their roster. He’s expected to start at first base and bat sixth in the lineup Tuesday as the Yankees open a series with the Baltimore Orioles.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s how you look at it, right?” Rizzo said. “This is part of it. The team’s in a great position. Obviously, there’s nothing better than playing baseball. It’s what we love to do. But now it’s just about focusing on getting better and coming back and helping.”
Source Agencies
