Pena, Cabrera Get Dinged Up In Opener Against Twins
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
COMERICA PARK (CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Tigers lost their game against the Minnesota Twins Monday, and they also saw a couple of their players get a little banged up.
Catcher Brayan Pena, usually the backup catcher but currently the starter because Alex Avila is on the seven-day disabled list for post-concussion symptoms, took a foul ball to his right big toe. He hopped to first base a few minutes later but was taken out of the game. He said X-rays were negative but that the toe, still getting darker, still hurt a lot and that the team doctors would look at it and treat it accordingly Wednesday.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Avila had a solid time going through the pregame routine Tuesday but added that the team had not decided whether it would play Avila Wednesday.
Third baseman Miguel Cabrera also appeared hurt in Monday's game, having tweaked something in his ninth-inning at bat that ultimately ended with a strikeout.
"That first swing it looked like he reacted with some pain because you could see it in his facial expression," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't know what the situation is. I'll check it after you guys leave, but I could tell when he came up the steps he was hurting a little bit."
Cabrera has dealt with a strained hip flexor - an issue related to an abdominal muscle - throughout this season, but head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said that injury affected Cabrera's running but not his swing. With that in mind, the fact Cabrera appeared to tweak something during a swing raises the concern that this might be a new problem.
