The Pawtucket Red Sox – and, by extension, Boston – will be holding their collective breath regarding the condition of outfielder Ryan Kalish.
Kalish, who’s considered by many baseball observers to be J.D. Drew’s successor in right field, appeared to have severely injured his left (throwing) arm while making a catch during Pawtucket’s 14-0 romp over Syracuse on Thursday afternoon at McCoy Stadium.
Michael Aubrey led the second inning with a sinking line drive to center field. Kalish made a head-first diving catch, but at the same time rolled over on his left arm. He was helped off the field by trainer Jon Jochim who was holding that arm for obvious reasons. The 23-year-old was in Pawtucket’s clubhouse for a couple of minutes after the game with his left arm in a sling but declined specific comment and only said “We’re going to find out what’s what.”
Given this scenario, the chances of Kalish accompanying Pawtucket on its bus ride to Rochester for a weekend series appear to be slim and none.
“We sent him out to get looked at and we’ll see,” said PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler. “He hurt his shoulder. It didn’t look real serious but you never know. It was sore and was hurting him so we got him out of there. We’ll see what they come up with after he gets checked out.
“He didn’t hurt it when he hit the ground. He hurt it when he rolled. So, who knows?”
Even though Kalish began the day hitting only .236, he was riding a five-game hitting streak during which he was batting .273 (6-for-22) with two doubles and two RBI. The outfielder jumped three levels last season, from Portland to Pawtucket to Boston. In 53 games with Boston, he hit .252 with four home runs and 24 RBI.
“He plays hard all the time,” said Beyeler. “Guys that play hard … things happen to them. It was what it was. He plays hard and I’m sure he would do it again if he had the opportunity.
“At least he caught the ball and got the out. Hopefully things turn out okay and he’s out a couple of days and we get him right back.”
EXTRA BASES: When Kalish left the game, he was replaced by Nate Spears … In his first at-bat against losing pitcher Garrett Mock, Spears belted a grand-slam home run that crashed off the elevated billboards behind the right-field fence … Drew Sutton went 5-for- 6 with five runs scored and an RBI … Veteran right-hander Brandon Duckworth stymied the Chiefs on six hits over seven innings, replete with one walk and five strikeouts … In
the process, Duckworth improved his record to 2-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.46 for 18 2/3 innings.