BOSTON – In the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday, the Braves’ Sean Murphy was hit by a pitch on the inside of his right elbow. Within 20 seconds, his elbow looked, as Max Fried put it, “like there was another ball lodged in there.”
It had swelled that much. Murphy exited the game with head athletic trainer George Poulis and manager Brian Snitker.
It appears Murphy avoided the worst, though. Initial X-rays were negative. He is day-to-day. And after the game, Murphy – with his right elbow heavily wrapped to reduce that swelling and begin the healing – was in good spirits.
A great sign: Murphy said he wasn’t surprised the X-rays were negative based on how it felt. He didn’t seem to be concerned about the ailment when he discussed it after the Braves beat the Red Sox, 8-3, at Fenway Park.
“It’s just a big, gross lump on the arm,” Murphy said. “I’ve had hematomas before, so I knew what it was. It just looks worse than it is. It’ll go down quick.”
A hematoma, in simple terms, is a bad bruise. Murphy and the Braves hope this is all it is for the catcher, who spent two months on the injured list because of a strained oblique.
Does Murphy believe he could play in the next couple of days and avoid the injured list?
“Absolutely,” Murphy said.
The Braves said Murphy is day-to-day. It wouldn’t be surprising if the team ran him through additional imaging, like an MRI, on Wednesday morning – just to ensure nothing happened.
This might be an ailment that simply looked worse in the moment because of how quickly the swelling formed.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Snitker said. “But (head athletic trainer) George (Poulis) said it was good that he was able to move it.”
When Poulis and Snitker went out to check on Murphy, Poulis held Murphy’s arm while he tried to bend it up and down. It didn’t appear Murphy had any issues.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Yeah, again, it didn’t feel too bad, and then I look down, and it’s like, ‘Ah, crap,’” Murphy said. “I just wanted to be cautious and make sure everything’s alright.”
Murphy said he’s experienced something like this before. It happened when he fouled a ball off his leg a couple of years ago.
“They stink, but that’s part of it,” Murphy said.
In the top of the fifth inning on Tuesday, Murphy drove in a run with a single. In the bottom half, he gunned down a runner trying to steal second.
The Braves missed Murphy when he was sidelined for two months because of the oblique strain. Fortunately for them, it doesn’t appear they’ll lose him for any extended period of time.
“Hope he can get back in there (in the) next couple of days,” Snitker said.
