San Diego Padres starter Nick Pivetta pitched just three innings yesterday, but his injury could be minor.
The San Diego Padres may have caught a break with Nick Pivetta with what was described as “elbow stiffness” after he left the mound in the third inning of yesterday’s 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Pivetta’s injury was reported on by both ESPN and MLB.com. The San Diego starter retired his first nine batters in order, but when Edouard Julien led off the fourth, Pivetta threw a called trike to even the count at 2-2 even though his velocity dropped to 92.2 mph on a four-seam fastball, according to the ESPN report.
That led to a mound visit from manager Craig Stammen and head athletic trainer Mark Rogow, and Pivetta was removed after a brief conversation.
"I just tried to go out there and do the best I could and get as deep in the baseball game as I possibly could," Pivetta said. "Obviously, I didn't feel good."
Reliever Kyle Hart entered the game, and afterward Stammen mentioned Pivetta’s spring training appearances, which were limited due to what could be the same issue.
"I think it's similar to what he was going through in spring training," Stammen said. "I think we caught it early enough this time. You know hopefully things will be all right, but anytime it's someone's elbow, especially a pitcher, it's reason for caution."
Pivetta skipped a start due to what Stammen called “arm fatigue,” although he did return to his regular throwing routine, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
“There's a world where he makes his next start,” Stammen said, which is cause for at least some optimism.
This sounds wildly optimistic, however.. It sounds like Pivetta will soon be making a stop on the 15-day injured list, which means other options will be considered.
“I feel really good,” Stammen said. “We've got guys coming back off the IL here -- Matt Waldron and Griffin Canning at some point. Joe [Musgrove], hopefully, at some point also. And then we've got guys down there like JP Sears that we can call up on the 40-man. I'd feel comfortable with any of those guys taking the ball for us.”
One reason for Stammen’s optimism is the offense, which has suddenly become productive after struggling during the first week of the season. The Padres pounded Colorado pitching to sweep the four-game series over the weekend, but the Seattle Mariners will offer more challenging hurlers as they come to town for a three-game set that starts tomorrow night.
San Diego is surging right now, but it will be much tougher for the Padres to continue their recent success if Pivetta is out for any length of time.