Darryl Kile died 10 years ago today - MLB

Cardinals ace Darryl Kile passed away 10 years ago today on June 22, 2002.

Fresh off seasons of 20 and 16 wins, Kile was still pretty much in his baseball prime at 33 when he died of a heart attack brought on by coronary disease. His body was found in his hotel room after he didn’t show up for the Cardinals’ game at Wrigley Field, and Cubs catcher Joe Girardi took to the field just before start time to announce the game was cancelled. A little while later, the reason was given.

Joe Strauss has an excellent remembrance of him over at Stltoday.com.

Kile’s death came just days after legendary Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck died. He was the most famous active player to die since Yankee great Thurman Munson was killed in a plane crash in 1979. A three-time All-Star, he had a record of 133-119 with a 4.12 ERA. In his three seasons with the Cardinals, he was 41-24 with a 3.54 ERA.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”