Nolan Arenado’s defensive range extends farther than any other third baseman in the National League. The Gold Glover can scoop up groundballs every which way. But the one spot that might cause him trouble did so Thursday afternoon.
Arenado injured an already ailing left hand in the seventh inning of the Rockies’ game against the Braves at Coors Field. He immediately left the field.
“It just popped up on me and hit the same exact spot where I got drilled in Miami,” Arenado said. “It hurt. It got real swollen, real quick.”
The Rockies X-rayed his hand before the conclusion of a 10-4 loss to the Braves. Those results showed no obvious break, Arenado said. He said he would like to play Friday night to start a series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“We’ll see how I feel in the morning. I expect to be in there (Friday),” he said. “But we’ll see how the swelling feels. It’s a little puffy right now.”
The Braves’ Lane Adams hit a sharp grounder toward third base with two outs in the seventh and it tied up Arenado as he tried to backhand the ball, which hit him square at the part of his hand that was already bruised to the bone.
Head athletic trainer Keith Dugger rushed to the field to tend to Arenado, who doubled over at the waist in pain. They both walked to the dugout soon after.
“The trainer told me, ‘I can’t believe it hit that spot,’ ” Arenado said. “I was thinking the same thing: Man, you’ve got to be kidding me. That’s the way it goes. That’s baseball. Just something I have to deal with.”
On Sunday, Arenado was hit by a pitch in Miami, on the outside part of his left hand, causing a deep bone bruise. Arenado missed only one start, on Monday against Atlanta. He pinch hit in that game, though, and returned Tuesday to the starting lineup. He homered in that game.
The Braves were blowing out the Rockies 9-2 when Arenado departed Thursday. Rookie Ryan McMahon, who started at first base, moved to third. Mark Reynolds entered to play first base.
“It hit a piece of my glove, which is good,” Arenado said. “A bruise on top of a bruise. It’s just kind of crazy it hit in the exact same spot.”
Footnotes. McMahon smacked a double to the left field gap in the second inning that scored Trevor Story to tie the game at 1-1. He scored on Charlie Blackmon’s groundout. It was McMahon’s first career extra base hit and his first RBI. The recent call-up from Triple-A is 2-for-9 in four games. … Blackmon hit his 28th home run in the ninth, moving one ahead of Arenado for the team lead. His 111 runs scored ties his career high from 2016. He is hitting .394 at Coors Field this season. … Rookie right-hander Antonio Senzatela pitched two hitless innings in relief. He has not allowed a hit in his past two appearances, over four innings. Manager Bud Black said Senzatela still might return to the rotation.
Looking ahead
Brewers RHP Matt Garza (6-6, 4.38 ERA) at Rockies RHP German Marquez (9-5, 4.13), Friday 6:40 p.m., AT&T SportsNet, 850 AM
An ample test awaits Marquez, the 22-year-old rookie. He will open a critical three-game series against a Brewers team within earshot of the Rockies in the wild-card standings. And he will be trying to bounce back from his worst start this season, a sideways appearance at Miami where he gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Marquez generally has pitched better than his experience might indicate, but he has not yet had to put behind him an outing so ugly. Rebounds are key.
Saturday: Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (1-1, 1.50) at Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (0-0, 0.00), 6:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Sunday: Brewers RHP Chase Anderson (6-2, 2.89) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 3.74), 1:10 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
Monday: Off
