Cleveland Guardians place Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac on 15-day injured list
CLEVELAND — Clinging to a one-game lead in the American League Central after Friday night's games, the Guardians fell victim to some ill-timed bad luck, placing two starting pitchers on the 15-day injured list.
Right-hander Aaron Civale was diagnosed with right forearm inflammation after pitching a bullpen session Thursday. It is Civale's third trip to the injured list; he has also been shut down with a right wrist sprain and left glute tightness this season.
Manager Terry Francona said the team believes right-hander Zach Plesac suffered a broken right hand when he slammed the ground in frustration after giving up a home run in the seventh inning of a 4-3 victory over the Mariners in Seattle on Aug. 27.
Plesac suffered a similar injury after a no-decision on May 23, 2021, when he allowed five runs and three home runs in 3⅔ innings of a home loss against the Minnesota Twins. That day, Plesac was taking off his jersey and hit his right thumb on the corner of his chair.
Taking the place of Plesac, right-hander Cody Morris made his major league debut in Friday night’s 6-1 loss to the Mariners at Progressive Field. The 15th-ranked prospect in the Guardians’ system, Morris was one of the team’s Sept. 1 call-ups.
Left-hander Xzavion Curry, called up from Triple A-Columbus, will start Saturday night’s game against the Mariners. Also brought up from Columbus was left-hander Kirk McCarty, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief Friday.
Francona said Plesac (3-11, 4.39 ERA) and Civale (2-6, 5.40 ERA) underwent MRIs during Thursday’s 3-0 home loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
“Last night was a busy night. There was a lot going on,” Francona said pregame.
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Francona explained that the palm of Plesac’s hand was swollen after his last start. Plesac first felt the discomfort after a weight workout the next day, but stuck with his scheduled side session. Afterward, Plesac said he was fine and could pitch, but the medical staff decided to send him for imaging so he could throw with what Francona deemed a “clean conscience.”
The test revealed that Plesac fractured his right fifth metacarpal.
Francona said Plesac “had no idea” he had broken his hand. The Guardians examined video of Plesac’s outing to try to determine what happened.
“You can see in the seventh inning in Seattle he gave up a home run to [Jake] Lamb and he was kind of knelt down, and he hit the ground,” Francona said. “That, to me and to the trainers, looks like what maybe set it off.”
Francona said the best-case scenario for Plesac is that he’s in a splint for a week. Francona said Plesac would visit hand specialist Thomas Graham soon.
Civale’s IL stint is retroactive to Aug. 30, which would make him eligible to pitch on Sept. 14 at home against the Los Angeles Angels.
Francona said Civale “didn’t seem real crisp” in his bullpen session Thursday and told pitching coach Carl Willis that his elbow didn’t “feel great.”
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“When you start hearing forearm/elbow, you get nervous,” Francona said. “Structurally he came back really good. So that's the good news. He had some inflammation. It's musculature.
“But when that happens, you know you get some swelling in that area, it can set off … whether it's the nerve or whatever. It kind of makes it a little angry in there.”
Francona said Civale might throw early next week to test his forearm, but the medical staff wants to let the medication he was prescribed take effect for a few days.
Civale has been plagued by injuries this season, but Francona was relieved by the latest diagnosis.
“From yesterday afternoon when he was heading over to get his MRI, to when we found out, pretty big sigh of relief for the kid,” Francona said.
Guardians’ Cody Morris says major league debut ‘exhilarating’
The 15th Guardian to make his major league debut this season for the youngest team in baseball, Morris struggled.
He threw 54 pitches through two innings and took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits, while walking two and striking out three. The Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh touched him for solo homers.
Asked what his first time on a big-league mound felt like, Morris let out a long sigh.
“It’s hard to put into words. It was really exciting, exhilarating,” he said. “I had fun out there. Obviously I wish I had pitched better, but I‘m just trying to learn as much as I can while I’m here and just trying to get better for the next time.”
Francona knew it was a rough night for Morris.
“The ball comes out good … I can see why everybody likes him so much,” Francona said. “By all accounts, at this point in his development his change-up is probably his second-best pitch. Even Carl said in the bullpen that he didn’t have a good one. So that didn’t play much into his couple innings, so that didn’t help.
“Try to be fair to the kid. He thought he was gonna pitch out of the bullpen and then last night we tell him he’s starting. That won’t define his career tonight, but there’s a lot to like in this kid.”
Morris went to high school in Fulton, Maryland, and had a large contingent of family members cheering him on.
“A lot of tickets were requested,” he said. “It’s great. I’m so happy and grateful that they all came. Last night they all got to come on the field and we took a bunch of pictures. It was really cool.”
Morris left the park convinced he belongs.
“Absolutely. It just starts with attacking guys in the zone better,” he said. “I know I have the stuff to do it, it just comes down to executing.”
Guardians' Emmanuel Clase named AL Reliever of the Month
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was named AL Reliever of the Month for the second time this season and the third time in his career. The last Guardian to receive the honor other than Clase was Cody Allen in April 2017.
An All-Star, Clase posted a 0.79 ERA in 13 appearances in August and converted all seven of his save opportunities. He struck out 12 and did not allow a walk, extending a streak of not walking a batter in 22 consecutive outings entering Friday.
This season, Clase has totaled 30 saves, 24 consecutive, with only two blown chances.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians' Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale placed on injured list
