Orioles DH Guerrero Sidelined With Hand Injury
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero has a fractured bone in his right hand, an injury that forced him to miss Friday night's game against Cleveland and could land him on the disabled list.
Guerrero has not played since being struck in the hand by a pitch from Boston's Kyle Weiland on Sunday. He was too sore to play Thursday against the Indians but had hoped to return Friday.
"He went in the cage, thought he might be able to play today," Showalter said Friday afternoon. "That did not go well."
Showalter delayed filling out his lineup card to see if Guerrero could assume his customary spot at cleanup. Instead, Showalter put catcher Matt Wieters in the No. 4 slot and used Nolan Reimold as the DH.
Showalter said an x-ray revealed a "small crack" in a bone on the outer part of Guerrero's hand, but the Orioles are hopeful the 36-year-old slugger ultimately will be able to play through the injury.
"Guys have played with it if there's not a possibility of hurting it more. It's a matter of when the discomfort goes away,"
Showalter said. "We'll see what the next day or two brings."
It appeared unlikely that Guerrero would be available Saturday.
"I know Vlady did say he's not real sure about tomorrow either," Showalter said. "I've heard that secondhand though. I
want to make sure I hear it from him."
Guerrero is batting .279 with seven homers and 31 RBIs. He's been hit by pitches 102 times over his career, including six times this year, but does not use batting gloves at the plate.
"This is a guy that plays through a lot of things. He's been hit multiple times," Showalter said. "You know that if he's
feeling that type of discomfort, there's something going on there."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
