DENVER—Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jason Hammel strained his right groin in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I don’t want to go on the DL,” he said. “I pride myself on being a healthy pitcher. We have an extra day off and maybe that will play into the situation and I won’t miss any time.”
Hammel was hurt in the third inning and came out of the game.
“It happened on the last pitch of the third inning, but the pitch before that I could feel it tightening up,” he said. “Then it popped on the last pitch. It doesn’t feel too bad.”
Hammel struggled in his fourth start of the season. He gave up five runs and six hits, struck out two and walked one. He gave up a three-run homer to Adam LaRoche in the first inning.
Hammel is the third Rockies starter to get injured. Sunday, Jorge De La Rosa left his start after five innings with numbness in his left middle finger. An MRI revealed he has a torn flexor band and he will most likely land on the DL.
Before the season lefthander Jeff Francis was placed on the DL with a sore left shoulder. He missed all of 2009 after having surgery to repair a torn labrum.
