Embed from Getty Images
Washington Nationals reliever Kelvin Herrera underwent an X-ray on his left foot during the ninth inning of the Nationals’ 15-0 win over New York Mets.
Nationals manager Davey Martinez acknowledge that Herrera did not injure his Achilles, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Herrera was seen getting around the clubhouse on crutches awaiting results of the X-ray, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
Herrera hadn’t pitched since Tuesday and had asked Martinez to work in today’s game. Washington exploded for 15 runs after going scoreless for 32 innings. A closer usually does not pitch in a blowout win, but given the four day rest, Herrera was eager to pitch.
I’ve seen some complaints from fans on here that Kelvin Herrera was pitching the 9th in a 15-0 game.
1. Someone has to pitch. Injuries happen.
2. Herrera hadn’t pitched in 5 days. He told Davey pregame he would like to get in today’s game regardless of score, to get some work.— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) August 26, 2018
Herrera fielded a grounder from Jose Bautista. Herrera raced to first to tag the base with no one covering, but when he planted his left leg he crumbled to the ground. Unable to put weight on his foot, he was carted off the field after a lengthy delay. Koda Glover closed the game recording the final out to preserve the Nationals’ win.
The latest adds to the struggles Herrera has experienced since being traded to the Nationals from the Royals in June. Recording the two outs, Herrera’s ERA lowered to 4.34. He has been a shell of himself since coming to the Nats, as the team as a whole has struggled sliding 8.5 games back of first place in the NL East and 7.5 for the second NL wild card.
