Back spasms keeping J.J. Hardy out of the Orioles’ lineup

By Apr 7, 2014, 10:15 AM EDT
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Initially when J.J. Hardy sat out a game last week with back spasms the Orioles said it was merely a precautionary move early in a long season, but the shortstop had to skip Sunday’s game with more back spasms.

Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com reports that the latest issue is actually in a different spot in Hardy’s back, but says “it’s still a concern” for the 31-year-old.

Ryan Flaherty moved from third base to shortstop to sub for Hardy, who missed a lot of time with various injuries early in his career but played 158 games in 2012 and 159 games in 2013 for the Orioles. He’s the winner of back-to-back Gold Glove awards and topped 20 homers in each of the past three seasons.

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Dodgers place pitcher Noah Syndergaard on injured list with no timetable for return

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 9:19 PM EDT
dodgers syndergaard
Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports
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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.”