It was a bad turn of events in Tuesday night’s Phillies game, but it could have been worse. Heriberto Hernandez of the Marlins fouled off a pitch that ended up hitting catcher J.T. Realmuto‘s throwing hand. Before the fans could stop cringing, Realmuto was shaking out the hand and looking at it, obviously in pain. After being examined by a trainer, talked to by manager Rob Thomson, and exchanging a few warm-up tosses with third baseman Alec Bohm, Realmuto stayed in the game, but only temporarily. When his spot in the order came up, Rafael Marchan emerged from the dugout to take his place.

Before the game was even over – which included a 1-hour, 9-minute rain delay and two extra innings for the Phillies to lose 6-5 – it had been announced that x-rays on Realmuto’s hand were negative. All that means is that there were no broken bones, which makes the official diagnoses a right finger contusion (a bruised finger), but it doesn’t address what the pain level may be and how it may affect Realmuto’s swing or his ability to throw out runners on the basepaths. the reason Marchan pinch-hit was because Realmuto was unable to grip a bat.

It should also be noted that just a couple of pitches after suffering the injury, reliever Jhoan Duran surrendered a two-run home run to Hernandez. Perhaps the reason for the home run was that Duran had to just hang out during the delay and wait.

Realmuto is being re-evaluated in Philadelphia, but it would not be a surprise if he were held out of the lineup for a day or two.

Realmuto’s real value to the Phillies is his defense, his ability to handle the pitching staff, and his ability to throw out baserunners attempting to steal. In fact, he leads all National League catchers in throwing out basestealers with a total of 28 this season. Offensively, Realmuto started slowly, but is batting .280 since June 1st.

It’s been a normal season of getting beat up behind the plate for Realmuto who has missed little time in his playing career because of injuries. Earlier this season he took a foul ball to his groin and returned two days later. The same thing happened earlier this month, but he was able to stay in the game. Let’s hope his hand is as durable as other parts of his body.

While the NL East is locked up, the Los Angeles Dodgers could still steal the first-round bye from the Phillies, which is something that manager Rob Thomson wants his team to capture. The Phillies lost starter Zack Wheeler for the season and have shortstop Trea Turner and infielder Edmundo Sosa on the IL. They hope to have Sosa back as soon as today and have Turner back in time to play a couple of games this weekend before the end of the regular season.

Designed with WordPress