Diamondbacks gathering second opinions on Alek Thomas' hamstring
BALTIMORE — Torey Lovullo still did not have an update on center fielder Alek Thomas’ status prior to Friday’s game against the Orioles. Thomas underwent an MRI on his hamstring on Wednesday, but the team is gathering opinions from a second and third doctor before making a determination on his next steps.
“The latest MRI, we want to examine it and make sure that if we do decide to go, there's not gonna be risk of anything further,” Lovullo said. “If we don't decide to go, we want to make sure that we're getting the diagnosis right. And he's feeling great, it's just that we haven't gotten the full clearances to say, 'This is what it is and this is where we're at.' And we want to let more than one person get a good look at it.”
Despite requiring multiple opinions, it sounded as if there is still a path for his return to come sooner rather than later.
“There's clearly something going on,” Lovullo said. “There's clearly a signal in there. Whether it's OK or not is what we're trying to determine.”
Thomas suffered his initial injury running the bases on March 31. He returned for three rehab games with Triple-A Reno last weekend before reporting discomfort in his hamstring, which necessitated his latest round of imaging.
Eduardo Rodriguez begins throwing program
BALTIMORE — Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez began his throwing program on Friday, throwing from 45 feet. That came after an encouraging MRI on Wednesday, which showed enough progress in his lat for the Diamondbacks to begin ramping him back up.
Rodriguez suffered his injury during a spring training game on March 19, then had a setback after feeling discomfort during a bullpen session on April 9.
Lovullo said Friday that starting pitchers typically need at least as much time to ramp back up as they spent recovering. That timeline would indicate Rodriguez is still over a month from making his Diamondbacks debut.
Friday’s Diamondbacks-Orioles pitching matchup
Diamondbacks at Orioles, 4:05 p.m., Apple TV+
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-2, 4.61) vs. Orioles LHP Cole Irvin (3-1, 2.86).
At Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Pfaadt gave up five runs (three earned) in six innings against the Padres last week, an outing in which he was hurt by defensive mistakes behind him. … Pfaadt has registered quality starts in three of his past four outings. … He has been working with a little less fastball velocity this year (92.6 mph average) compared to last year (93.7 mph). … He has never faced the Orioles. … Irvin has not allowed a run in each of his past three outings and owns a scoreless streak of 20⅔ innings. Most recently, he fired 6-1/3 scoreless innings against the Reds, walking none and striking out four. … Irvin has walked only two while striking out 12 during the scoreless streak. … Irvin has a fastball that sits around 92 mph and relies heavily on his curveball. He also mixes in cutters and change-ups. … He faced the Diamondbacks last season, giving up four runs in 5⅔ innings during a start in September.
Saturday’s Diamondbacks-Orioles pitching matchup
Diamondbacks at Orioles, 1:05 p.m., Cox Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.23) vs. Orioles LHP John Means (1-0, 0.00).
Nelson returned from a brief trip to the injured list last week against the Padres and allowed four runs in five innings. He struck out three and walked one as the Diamondbacks offense helped carry him to a win. … Prior to the elbow contusion that landed him on the injured list, Nelson had a string of encouraging outings with a reliance on his cutter. He said after the Padres win that his stuff felt as sharp as it did before the injury. … Nelson has found much of his success against teams that struggle to hit four-seam fastballs. Despite their overall offensive prowess, the Orioles rank in the bottom 10 teams in the quality of their contact against four-seam fastballs. … Means made his first appearance of the season last week against the Reds after missing the start of the year with a forearm strain. He delivered seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out eight. … Means has made just seven appearances over the past three seasons due to injuries, namely the Tommy John surgery that he underwent in 2022.
Coming up
Sunday: At Baltimore, 10:35 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (4-2, 2.84) vs. Orioles RHP Dean Kremer (3-2, 3.57).
Monday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-2, 4.70) vs. Reds RHP Graham Ashcraft (3-2, 3.86).
Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Slade Cecconi (1-2, 4.15) vs. Reds RHP Hunter Greene (1-2, 3.38).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DBacks gathering second opinions on Alek Thomas' hamstring
