In the fourth inning Tuesday night between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona fans witnessed something quite bittersweet. Centerfielder Chris Young robbed Pedro Alvarez of an extra base hit, but in doing so got hurt and had to leave the game.
Young had to race to his right in left-centerfield and left his feet, leaping in to the wall. He made the catch and hit the wall with his right shoulder, but did not immediately get up afterward. He got up and walked off the field under hie own power, but it looked like his right shoulder was affected.
In leaving the game, Gerardo Parra moved to centerfield, Jason Kubel moved from leftfield to right, Willie Bloomquist went from shortstop to leftfield and John McDonald entered the game to play shorstop.
The injury to Young, though at this point is unknown how serious it is, hurts in many ways. The outfield depth is already being tested with Justin Upton battling a thumb injury. His defense in center will be missed as he covers a ton of ground, as evidenced by his catch of Alvarez' hit. But more importantly he has been the biggest threat in the Arizona lineup, after going 1-2 with a double and a run scored, Young was hitting .410 on the season with five homers and 13 RBI.
That production will not be easy to replace.
If a move has to be made on the roster, outfielder A.J. Pollock, currently batting .340 in AAA Reno, would be the likely replacement on the roster.
We will keep you posted as soon as there is more information.
See the play that ended Young's night.
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