Reds, Brady Singer had an unwelcome injury scare against the Nationals
· Yahoo Sports
The last thing the Cincinnati Reds need is another injured starting pitcher, but they appeared to avoid that fate in the second inning against the Washington Nationals on May.
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Reds starting pitcher Brady Singer was pitching in the top of the second against the Nationals at Great American Ball Park when Daylen Lile hit a line drive that appeared to strike the outside of Singer's right foot. The grounder was measured at 106.7 mph off Lile's bat, and Singer stayed on the ground after the play ended.
An athletic trainer and Reds manager Terry Francona emerged from the dugout to tend to Singer, who walked around the mound, threw a warmup toss and ended up staying in the game.
Singer's foot was immediately tested by the next batter. Nasim Nuñez's sacrifice bunt attempt took a good hop for Singer but he still had to run down the mound to field the ball. Singer then turned and successfully threw Nuńez out.
Cincinnati's pitching staff has enough injuries as it is. Nick Lodolo (finger blisters) is scheduled to make his second start of the season May 13 after returning from more than a month on the injured list for a finger blister. His return went against the grain of recent injuries to Rhett Lowder (shoulder discomfort) and Brandon Williamson (shoulder fatigue; 60-day IL). They both joined Hunter Greene, who had surgery to remove bone spurs during spring training, as being unavailable for the club.
Greene's return isn't expected until mid-to-late July at the earliest.
Francona said May 10 Lowder was to go on the IL but that move hadn't been finalized as of May 12. Francona said the team was still working through some things relative to Lowder's situation.
The Reds are set on starting pitching through the Nationals series with Singer, Lodolo and Chase Burns all scheduled to start in the three-game set. Francona said the team was still working through the decision on who would start the Friday, May 15 series-opener against the Cleveland Guardians.
One possible starting option, Chase Petty, departed his May 11 start for Triple-A Louisville early due to a finger blister issue near a finger nail.
"He bit (the blister) off, I think in the first inning, or bit some skin," Francona said. "I mean, I actually saw pictures of it. It's kind of weird, so they took him out. We're obviously working through some things."
Petty on May 4 was one out shy of a quality start against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in his first big-league start of the season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Brady Singer injury scare vs. Washington Nationals: Update on foot