Cincinnati Reds first baseman out for the season, getting wrist surgery as they confirmed replacement
CINCINNATI (Enquirer) – Already expected to be out for the season because of a serious wrist injury, Christian Encarnacion-Strand had that prognosis confirmed Tuesday when a specialist determined the Cincinnati Reds first baseman would need surgery to repair ligament damage.
Surgery had been considered an option since Encarnacion-Strand went on the injured list in early May, but he sought medical options to allow him to return in time to play the bulk of the season and put off surgery until after the season.
He’s scheduled to have the surgery July 11, followed by a three-month recovery/rehab process, which effectively ends his season — no matter how much manager David Bell hopes for an eventual cameo.
“I don’t like to say that,” Bell said. “If we’re playing into November you just never know.”
The Reds haven’t been over .500 since May 2.
Encarnacion-Strand, who debuted last July, was hitting .190 with two home runs when he went on the IL May 8.
He suffered a broken bone in the wrist and the ligament damage when he was hit by a pitch April 27 in Texas. Initial tests did not reveal the extent of the injury, and he played through the injury for a week before more extensive testing showed the damage.
Cincinnati Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz was once proclaimed the “most thrilling man in baseball” by Reds play-by-play voice John Sadak. And on Monday, De La Cruz found another way to amaze Sadak with a moonshot of a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
De La Cruz came to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning already in the midst of a great game, reaching base on a single and double in two of his three prior at-bats in the game.
The second-year star added to this already impressive performance in a massive way, taking Pirates reliever Daulton Jefferies deep on a 439-foot, two-run home run that reached the Riverboat Deck all the way atop the batter’s eye.
Cincinnati extended its lead to 8-1 in the fifth inning. De La Cruz hit a one-out triple and Spencer Steer walked and stole second base before Gray hit Jake Fraley. Gray’s day ended when Marte hit a potential double-play grounder that Nolan Arenado couldn’t handle at third base. De La Cruz scored and Marte reached base on the error.
Fairchild hit a two-run single, then Marte and Fairchild executed a double steal to set up Benson’s two-run single. Benson stole second base and scored on Wynns’ double. Goldschmidt’s solo homer in the sixth inning cut Cincinnati’s lead to 8-2. India hit an RBI double in the seventh to make it 9-2. Carpenter’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning pulled St. Louis within 9-3.
