Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Oakland Athletics starter Jarrod Parker was dealing on Saturday, holding the very powerful St. Louis Cardinals offense in check for 3.2 innings until doubling over in pain after throwing a pitch to Allen Craig in the fourth.
Parker rolled around on the ground for a few minutes before being visited by trainers and manager Bob Melvin, ultimately leaving with what the team officially called ‘hamstring tightness’.
After the game, which the Cardinals won 7-1 thanks to a stellar complete game performance from ace Adam Wainwright, Parker noted that he’s never had any leg issues before.
A’s catcher Derek Norris, who caught Parker’s 3.2 innings on Saturday, said his stuff was the best he’d ever seen it — and the sentiment was echoed by third baseman Josh Donaldson — making Parker’s early exist that much more frustrating.
Tomorrow, the A’s will have a better understanding of the severity of Parker’s injury. Since it was unusually warm at the Coliseum on Sunday — first pitch was at 84 degrees — there’s hope that it was just a heat-induced cramp and not something more serious, like a strain (or a tear).
Parker walked off the mound on his own, which would hopefully indicate something less intense than a full strain — so we’ll have to wait and see what the consensus is on Sunday.
If Parker is deemed healthy enough to avoid the DL with the injury, he should be able to make his next start later this week when the A’s battle the Chicago Cubs. If his injury warrants a DL stint, though, Oakland could recall Dan Straily or promote Sonny Gray as potential fill-ins.
Adrian Garro is an Oakland Athletics writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and/or add him to your network on Google.