Notebook: Reds reliever Fernando Cruz placed on IL; Casey Legumina earns 1st win
OAKLAND – Fernando Cruz, in his 16-year professional baseball career, never spent a day on the injured list until Sunday.
Cruz was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain, first experiencing soreness after pitching the final 1 2/3 innings in a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 23. He didn’t pitch for the next four days, but then felt soreness in the same area of his shoulder after pitching one inning Friday.
After undergoing movement tests, a strain was discovered on Cruz’s rotator cuff. His shoulder made a cracking noise when he moved his arm to explain his injury while talking to reporters before Sunday’s game in Oakland.
“The inflammation led to that cracking,” Cruz said. “It was limiting the shoulder to move it the way you need to move it.”
Cruz remains confident he won’t miss a significant amount of time. Reds Manager David Bell said the training staff thought the strain was “pretty minor” and remained encouraged about a quick return.
It’s been a tough start to the season for the 33-year-old Cruz. He’s yielded 15 hits and 10 runs in 13 2/3 innings (6.59 ERA), though he’s been asked to pitch multiple innings in six of his 10 appearances because of the bullpen’s workload some weeks. He’s totaled 20 strikeouts and eight walks.
He pitched for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, so he’s been pitching in real games for a bit longer than the regular season.
“I’ve never had any experience of injuries,” Cruz said. “Not even a nail. Nothing. I never had anything in my career bothering me with my body. It’s the first time it happened. I’m disappointed obviously, but it’s in God’s plan. I think he has something better for me and I think I’ll be stronger.”
Cruz wasn’t sure what caused the injury. The medical staff told Cruz it may be attributed to the cold weather in Pittsburgh – it was 47 degrees at first pitch on April 23 – though he says he felt fine warming up in the bullpen.
“It started pinching me again,” Cruz said. “It’s not the way I am going to help the team. It’s not the way I’m going to help my career. I needed to talk to them. Hopefully, in two weeks, I’ll be back strong.”
Casey Legumina earns first win
Promoted to the major league roster Thursday when Wil Myers was placed on the injured list, Casey Legumina met his parents in the Bay Area. His parents planned to leave after Friday’s game, but they decided to stick around Saturday when Legumina didn’t pitch in the series opener against Oakland.
It was good thinking. Legumina earned his first Major League win Saturday after pitching a scoreless eighth inning and the Reds rallied for a 3-2 comeback win in the ninth.
“You never know when you’re going to get it,” said Legumina, smiling. “It’s a cool experience. All the guys go crazy.”
Legumina, 25, will remain in the Reds’ bullpen after Cruz was placed on the IL. Graham Ashcraft returned from the bereavement list to fill the final roster spot.
What mementos did he keep from his first win?
“I got the lineup card and the umpire cards,” Legumina said, “but the win is good enough.”
Hunter Greene ‘did the right thing’ with Oakland mound
There was a lengthy delay before the start of the third inning Saturday as Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene asked the Oakland grounds crew to repair the mound.
Greene said the landing spot for his front foot was “super muddy.” Bell said they could see Greene’s foot sliding from the view in the dugout.
“He did the right thing,” Bell said. “That would throw you off and we’re trying to win a game. Not only the health aspect of it. When you’re sliding and it throws off your command, you have to stop right there. We’ve gotten upset with our pitchers in the past for trying to pitch through something that didn’t feel right. Like why didn’t you say something? We find out after the fact and it costs us a game. That’s not the right way to do it.”
Pitch clock strikes
Matt Reynolds became the first Reds batter in team history to strike out without a pitch being thrown. Reynolds struck out on a pitch clock violation to end the second inning Sunday after home-plate umpire John Libka said he wasn’t ready to hit with eight seconds left on the clock.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds news: Fernando Cruz on injured list, Casey Legumina first win
