Fans would never have known it watching Luis Arraez blast three hits around the ballpark in the San Diego Padres’ 4-0 home win over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
But the Padres first baseman has been playing through a thumb injury and has said he may not be able to play in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas.
But Arraez said he plans to play Sunday when San Diego and Atlanta go on a break after their weekend series.
“I don’t need to take a day off,” Arraez said. “I don’t want to take a day off. I come here every day to play baseball.”
Arraez’s 3-for-4 performance on Saturday snapped a 1-for-15 slump. He had been batting just .275 since hurting his thumb while sliding into third base against the Washington Nationals on June 25. Arraez has been playing through a shoulder injury he suffered June 2 against the Royals in Kansas City.
He has a bandage on his injured thumb and says he feels pain every time he swings or catches a ball, but Arraez confirmed scans showed no fracture.
For the Padres, injuries have become as much a part of the season as pine tar and bags of rosin.
They are currently playing without their top two starting pitchers (Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove) and All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. They are also without second baseman Xander Bogaerts for about two months.
But if right-hander Randy Vazquez (2-4, 4.66 ERA) pitches well Sunday, the Tigers could still have a chance to win the series before the All-Star break.
Vázquez pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up two runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 5. In San Diego’s 10-8 win, Vázquez was called a no-decision after the Padres’ relief pitchers lost a 7-2 lead in the ninth inning.
The second-year pitcher is 0-2 with a 4.82 ERA against the Braves.
Meanwhile, Atlanta will have All-Star Chris Sale (12-3, 2.74 ERA) on the mound.
Sale stopped Arizona 6-2 on Tuesday night in Phoenix, striking out nine and throwing 100 pitches in 5 1/3 innings. Sale is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in three starts against San Diego, including a 3-0 win on May 20.
This season is Sale’s best since 2018, when he went 12-4 with 237 strikeouts in 158 innings for the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox.
Sale has been injured frequently and underperformed at times over the past four seasons (he missed all of 2020), but he has shown signs of being a true No. 1 starter since opening day this year.
“It’s fun to watch him compete,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Sale, “because of the skill he has and the way he shoots.”
Sale won’t play in the All-Star Game because he’s starting Sunday, but he’s happy with that, and is instead looking to lead his team into the resting period on a positive note and earn his MLB-leading 13th win.
“I like to stay focused, keep my eye on what’s important and get the ball when I need it,” Sale said.
Sale will travel to Texas for the Midsummer Classic along with teammate and fellow left-hander Max Fried, who was named to replace Suarez with the Philadelphia Phillies. Fried has a 7-5 record with a 3.08 ERA in 18 starts this season.
–Field Level Media
