Astros lose center fielder Justin Maxwell to a fractured hand

By Matthew PouliotApr 23, 2013, 11:53 PM EDT
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The Astros got a win over the Mariners on Tuesday to improve to 6-14 on the season, but they announced afterwards that center fielder Justin Maxwell suffered a fractured hand in the game.

Maxwell was injured on a bases-loaded HBP in the third. It scored the Astros’ third and final run of the game in the 3-2 victory.

The 29-year-old Maxwell had started all 20 games in center field for the Astros this season, hitting .234 with one homer and six RBI. A long history of injuries stalled his development throughout his 20s, but he has found a home in Houston, hitting 19 homers in 392 at-bats since being picked up from the Yankees last year.

With Maxwell sidelined, probably for at least a month, the Astros figure to go to Brandon Barnes and maybe Rick Ankiel in center. Barnes has been a nice surprise dating back to spring training, and is 9-for-26 with a homer off the bench this year. Robbie Grossman was called up to help out.

Maxwell, for what it’s worth, is taking it well:

 

Braves clinch postseason spot with 10-1 win over Nationals

Dansby Swanson
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By Ashley VarelaSep 14, 2019, 9:53 PM EDT
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The Braves clinched a postseason berth with Saturday’s 10-1 win over the Nationals. Now, the only question is whether they’ll get there with an NL East division title or via one of two wild card spots currently up for grabs.

Granted, things are looking pretty good on the division title front. After losing their second straight game to the Braves, the Nationals sit 10.5 games back of first place in the NL East, and every other division rival is at least 15 games out. The Braves, meanwhile, carry a magic number of four; should they clinch, it’ll be their 19th franchise title and 14th since they migrated to the East division in 1994.

They certainly looked like postseason contenders on Saturday. Mike Foltynewicz led the charge with six innings of one-run, five-strikeout ball, limiting the Nationals to four hits while rookie right-hander Austin Voth kept the Braves scoreless through 5 2/3 frames. Things started to tip in Atlanta’s favor in the sixth inning: Nick Markakis put the team on the board with an RBI single, and a four-run breakout in the seventh helped cement a sizable lead. Over the last three innings, the Braves found opportunity after opportunity against the Nationals’ bullpen, capitalizing on walks, throwing errors, and productive outs as they climbed toward a double-digit finish.

The win didn’t come without some sacrifice, however. The Braves lost Charlie Culberson to a facial injury after he was struck by a Fernando Rodney fastball in the seventh inning, and they’ll likely be without him for the remainder of the regular season — pending a formal diagnosis, of course. Culberson’s loss isn’t the only one the club is feeling right now, either, as Johan Camargo ended his season with a hairline fracture in his right shin and Freddie Freeman is playing through a minor bout of elbow soreness after making an early exit from Friday’s 5-0 shutout.