Robertson leaves early with injury

Robertson leaves early with injury
Starter goes 6 1/3 before departing with lat soreness
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson left his start on Tuesday night against the Twins in the seventh inning with left lat tightness.

Replays showed Robertson reaching for his left side after inducing a popout from Minnesota's Mike Lamb to lead off the seventh inning. He threw a first-pitch ball to Matt Tolbert, before head athletic trainer Kevin Rand approached the mound along with manager Jim Leyland.

Upon examination, Robertson left the game without throwing any warmup pitches. Aquilino Lopez, who replaced an injured Dontrelle Willis last Friday at Chicago, entered the game and finished out the inning.

The Tigers are already short one starter with Willis on the disabled list with a hyperextended right knee. Armando Galarraga is scheduled to be recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take Willis' spot in Wednesday's game at Cleveland, but the club wanted to wait until after Tuesday's game to make the move in order to keep an extra reliever for as long as they could.

Robertson allowed four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out five. He has proven to be one of Detroit's more durable starters over his five-year career. He missed close to a month last season with a tired arm and ended up with 177 2/3 innings over 30 starts, breaking a streak of three years with at least 196 innings.

Hope it turns out to be something very minor

Guess what move the Tigers will make tomorrow before the game to give Galarraga a spot on the roster? Who'll get sent down to give Vasquez a spot when Robertson's turn comes around again?

Why, oh why, didn't the Tigers sign Jeff Weaver?

bobrob2004 wrote:

Guess what move the Tigers will make tomorrow before the game to give Galarraga a spot on the roster? Who'll get sent down to give Vasquez a spot when Robertson's turn comes around again?

Why, oh why, didn't the Tigers sign Jeff Weaver?

Stupidity?

Well probably be Grilli

Lopez can be a starter if it is really needed. Better not send Clete down!

Nooooo Not Virgil!!!! I'm still having nightmares from his 1st start last year on Sunday night baseball vs the Twins!!! If anything, I'd say bring up Fossum if Nate ends up on the DL.

Robertson Leaves Early?



Heck he pitched 6 1/3! innings; Which is about when Leyland usually takes Tigers starting pitchers out anyway


However, Let's hope Nate is OK!

Will this never stop?

Get well fast Nate!

04/16/2008 7:25 PM ET
Healthy Robertson to throw on Sunday
Second starter to leave early will not be sidelined further
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

CLEVELAND -- Tigers left-hander Nate Robertson is expected to make his next start Sunday at Toronto after leaving Tuesday's game against Minnesota with tightness in his left lateral muscles.

Robertson said Wednesday afternoon that he was feeling a lot better and looser in that area. He felt tightness in it on his final pitches of the sixth inning, he said, but came out for the seventh hoping to loosen them up. He had trouble getting extension on his slider, which had been an effective out pitch for him all evening, then asked for attention when he threw a first-pitch slider in the dirt to Matt Tolbert.

Had Robertson continued on and then left, he would've risked walking the ninth hitter in the Twins order ahead of leadoff man Carlos Gomez, with Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau looming a few batters later.

Robertson lasted 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. It was the strongest of his three outings thus far this season and one of the better performances from a Tigers rotation that has largely struggled over the first two-plus weeks of the schedule.

It was the second time in five days that an injury knocked out a Tigers starter. Dontrelle Willis hyperextended his right knee when he slipped on the mound in Chicago during the first inning of Friday night's opener against the White Sox and left without retiring a batter. He is now on the 15-day disabled list; the Tigers called up Armando Galarraga to take his spot in the rotation for Wednesday's series opener against the Indians.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I like Galarraga; He was awesome tonight against Cleveland

Oh he was! Let us hope Verlander can get his first win tonight!

bobrob2004 wrote:

Guess what move the Tigers will make tomorrow before the game to give Galarraga a spot on the roster? Who'll get sent down to give Vasquez a spot when Robertson's turn comes around again?

Why, oh why, didn't the Tigers sign Jeff Weaver?

I KNOW you are joking about the Jeff Weaver thing, right?

Looks like Nate is gonna be ok...