Cano X-ray negative, expects to play on Friday
Despite a throbbing leg, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano hung around Citi Field to the very end to watch teammate Mariano Rivera earn MVP honors by pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
It would have been easy for Cano to leave and begin treatment on an aching quadriceps after leaving Tuesday's All-Star Game in the first inning when he was hit by a Matt Harvey fastball.
Cano left the game but wasn't going to miss watching Rivera's final appearance in an All-Star Game.
"To be with a guy like Mariano, not only as a player but a person is an honor," Cano told USA Today.
The Yankees second baseman tried to continue playing after being hit but had to leave the game for a pinch runner. He had an X-ray on his right knee, and the X-ray was negative. Cano was diagnosed with a bruised quadriceps.
Cano said he did not consider the injury serious, adding he hopes to be in the Yankees' lineup come Friday when New York and the Boston Red Sox tangle.
"A little tight," Cano said after the American League defeated the Nationals, 3-0. "I didn't want to aggravate it and just try to play through a situation. Nothing bad," he added.
"I tried to go in," Harvey said on the Fox broadcast. "That sometimes happens. I feel terrible. My apologies definitely go out to him."
Cano did not blame Harvey -- in fact he was grateful that Harvey wasn't throwing in the high 90s.
"He was just trying to throw a cutter in and got a little too far inside," Cano said. "When I was coming off the field, he said 'my bad' and I said 'no problem.' I know he don't want to hit nobody. That's just part of the game."
In Spanish, Cano added: "As hard as he throws, at least it wasn't 98 (mph). It was 92 and luckily it hit the quad."
After being hit, Cano went to first but was replaced by pinch runner Dustin Pedroia after Miguel Cabrera struck out.
Cano has a .302 average with 21 home runs and 65 RBIs while playing in all 95 games for the Yankees prior to the All-Star break.
