Bad Day Gets Worse as Nelson Cruz Exits Game After HBP

So, you’re a Mariners fan. The first month-and-a-half of the season has been pretty good to you. Perhaps too good. May 15th would like to have a word with you.

It’s been a three-course meal of bad news for the Mariners today. For breakfast, an 80-game suspension for star second baseman Robinson Cano.

For lunch, Jerry Dipoto served up the news that Cano’s hand injury wouldn’t hold him out for as long as expected, further throwing salt into the wound of his suspension news.

And now, for dinner, Nelson Cruz has exited the Mariners-Rangers matchup after taking a pitch off his right foot.

The injury came in the fourth inning of the game, in which the Mariners lead 6-3. Tacoma native Brandon Mann, a southpaw reliever for the Rangers, spiked a breaking ball right on top of Cruz’s foot.

Cruz was visibly in significant pain upon impact but initially appeared to walk it off. His sprint to first was halted by the pain right before he touched the bag, however. A collective sense of anxiety filled the air of Safeco Field and the living rooms of all Mariners fans.

Cruz was assisted to the dugout, limping to the bench slowly.

This is now the second Mariners star to go down due to a hit-by-pitch in just three days. With what happened to Cano on Sunday, every bit of anxiety this situation has induced is warranted.

Fortunately, x-rays on Cruz’s foot have returned negative. For now, Cruz is day-to-day. But with the Mariners recent string of bad luck, anything is possible. We’ll see what happens when Cruz is re-evaluated tomorrow.

Don’t expect Cruz to be in the lineup tomorrow, though. Even if it’s not a huge deal, the bruising of the foot will keep him out for a few days.

All-in-all, it’s been a pretty bad day for the Mariners.

Oh, and now it’s a four-course meal. Since starting this article, Mike Leake has blown the lead and it’s 6-6. So, there’s that. Fun times.

Whatever.

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