Shane Baz left Citi Field with a sore right elbow Tuesday night, but Baltimore’s right-hander believes he escaped the kind of injury that could disrupt his final turn through the rotation. The Orioles went on to beat the Mets, 7-5, in 11 innings, and Baz said the hard comebacker mostly left his arm numb rather than seriously damaged.
Shane Baz exits after fifth-inning comebacker
Baz was struck on the right elbow by a 105.1 mph line drive off Bo Bichette’s bat in the fifth inning. The ball caromed away for a single, while Baz dropped to his knees behind the mound and remained there in obvious discomfort.
Assistant athletic trainer Ben Fraser and manager Craig Albernaz came out to examine him. Baz tried to test the arm with a warmup pitch, but the throw sailed to the backstop and ended his night.
- Baz worked four-plus innings and threw 68 pitches.
- He allowed seven hits.
- The Mets scored once in each of the opening three innings.
- New York held a 3-2 advantage when Baltimore removed Baz.
- The Orioles ultimately won 7-5 in 11 innings.
Baz said the liner caught him directly on the bone and caused his hand and arm to lose feeling. He wanted to remain in the game, but said he could not get a reliable grip on the baseball.
“It hit the bone and everything went numb,” Baz said. “I wanted to stay out there and battle through it, but I couldn’t really hold the ball. With a little more time, I might have been able to continue, but we chose to be careful.”
Encouraging early outlook for Baltimore
The 27-year-old did not sound alarmed after the game. Baz said he expects to be available as long as playing catch does not reveal an unexpected problem.
“Unless something strange happens when I play catch, I should be fine,” Baz said. “That warmup throw slipped because I hadn’t gotten all the feeling back. It may have clipped a nerve a little.”
Albernaz said Baz had already been working through a difficult outing before the line drive. The right-hander was mixing pitches as he searched for command and feel with his changeup and cutter, but the manager credited him for continuing to compete.
“He was having to work for it,” Albernaz said. “He was moving through different pitches, trying to find the changeup and cutter. It was tough for him early, with a run in each of the first three innings, but he kept fighting.”
Two possible starts remain
Baz has logged 173 innings across 30 starts in his first Baltimore season, carrying a 4.11 ERA. The Orioles acquired him from Tampa Bay on Dec. 19, then committed to him with a five-year, $68 million extension on March 27 before his club debut.
With Baltimore sitting at 74-78 and 10 games remaining, Baz could still make two more starts if his elbow responds normally over the next few days.
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