Phillies get best possible Austin Hays injury news at the worst time
Another Phillies player has been felled by a hamstring injury, and it comes just as the newest outfielder was finding his groove at the plate.
It's been a familiar scene this season for the Philadelphia Phillies: A player running the bases pulls up lame and grabs the back of their leg.
The most recent Phillie to repeat the always-concerning performance is newcomer Austin Hays. The outfielder pulled up just steps out of the batter's box during the third inning of Wednesday's tilt with the Los Angeles Dodger before gingerly making his way down the first base line and straight to the clubhouse.
He left the game after he felt his hamstring "grab." With the final diagnosis of a hamstring strain on Friday afternoon, the Phillies announced that their recent trade acquisition was going on the 10-day injured list.
Phillies get best possible Austin Hays injury news at the worst time
The good news is that Hays doesn't think the injury will keep him out of the lineup long, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman.
"Getting the result of the MRI and it being very mild, it's not going to take a long time to build back up," Hays said before Friday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, per Seidman. "It's really just rest it, let it calm down and in a few days, we'll see how it feels. I'm not expecting this to be a month-long thing. I'm expecting it to be a short time."
Hays is the fourth Phillies player to hit the IL with a hamstring injury this season. Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh and Bryce Harper have all spent varying lengths of time on the IL with hamstring strains. Turner's was the worst, lasting just over six weeks. Marsh and Harper had shorter IL stints, despite their injuries appearing worse at the time.
The Phillies apparently consider this injury similar to Marsh's ailment that sidelined him for 13 days in June.
Hays was finding his groove at the plate for the Phillies
The bad news is that Hays was just starting to find his groove at the plate in a Phillies uniform. Taking over the everyday left field role, the former Baltimore Oriole had been showing the tools that made the front office go out and offload Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache for the 29-year-old.
He went 1-for-8 in his first two games with the Phillies. In his next eight, he slashed .300/.323/.467 with a home run, a pair of doubles, four runs scored, four driven in and a stolen base in 30 at-bats.
He had gone 4-for-9 in the Dodgers series before exiting after one at-bat in the finale.
With Hays settling the revolving door in left and Nick Castellanos' early season struggles a distant memory, the Phillies’ outfield looked poised for a more productive stretch run. Now, we'll have to wait a couple of weeks — hopefully that's it — before we see the outfield back together again.
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