Mariners without Kyle Seager because of toe injury, but can he avoid DL?
Kyle Seager had almost carried the Seattle Mariners the past two days with his bat, but he was out of the lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles because of a toe injury.
Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters before the game that the injury was similar to Dee Gordon’s. Gordon fractured a bone in his toe and went to the 10-day disabled list, but Servais said Seager can play through it.
“He messed up his toe a little bit on a swing he took,” Servais said. “And it’s actually the same thing Dee Gordon had early in the year. It’s a ligament that pulls a piece of the bone away. It’s a weird deal. He just felt it on one swing, I think a foul ball, and it bothered him after that.
“Maybe not as severe as what Dee had. But Dee’s game is so driven by speed, Kyle’s not so much,” Servais said with a smile. “It’s something he can play through, but it’s best, talking with our medical people, to give him the day off.”
Servais did say Seager would be available to pinch hit if needed.
This was just the second game Seager hadn’t started. He missed another earlier this month when he was a late scratch to deal with a personal matter.
Seager was rolling entering Thursday, with back-to-back home runs in the previous two games against the Orioles, including a two-run homer in the ninth on Wednesday night to tie the game before the Mariners won in 11 innings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clutch Seager. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrueToTheBlue?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrueToTheBlue</a> <a href="https://t.co/i3L9MLW0YD">pic.twitter.com/i3L9MLW0YD</a></p>— Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1012170277860433920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Seager also drove in all three runs of the game in the Mariners 3-2 win over the Orioles on Tuesday. The past two games, Seager went 5-for-10 with five RBI .
“Kyle wanted to play today and I took it out of his hands,” Servais said. “He’s certainly deserving of a day. Tough to get him out of there when he’s playing so well. He was starting to get hot, but we’re playing for the long haul here so hopefully it will calm down after today.”
Seager did pinch-hit in the top of the ninth inning and then played at third base in the remainder of the Mariners' eventual 4-2 victory in 10 innings over the Orioles on Thursday. He flew out to left field in his lone AB.
But might as well have been a clean swap. The Mariners lost Seager, but gained Nelson Cruz, who had missed the prior two games because of lower back tightness. He felt some back spasms the morning before the Mariners’ victory on Tuesday.
Cruz hates to miss games at Camden Yards, his former stomping grounds with the Orioles. He was also coming off his American League player of the week honor for his tear against the Yankees and Red Sox.
“Veteran players know their bodies better than I know their bodies,” Servais said. “Just constantly communicating with him. When we left the ball park last night I thought there would be a chance to get him in there today. He’s good to go. I’m anxious to get him in there. He had a great week last week swinging the bat and hopefully we’ll get him going again.”
This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 12:09 PM.