DENVER – After playing in four games, Jonathan India returned to the 10-day injured list Sunday with right hamstring tightness.
India missed nine games because of a hamstring strain in mid-April. He hit 6-for-15 with a double in his four games off the IL, but he didn’t look 100% when he was running. He grounded into his first double play of the season in Friday’s 10-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
He was scratched from Saturday’s lineup and examined Sunday morning. Alejo Lopez filled his spot on the roster. Outfielder Jake Fraley was also placed on the 10-day IL with right knee inflammation and TJ Friedl was called up from Triple-A Louisville.
Aristides Aquinas:Out of chances with Reds, designated for assignment
Alex Diaz:Reds rookie pitcher turning heads with unique fastball
Joey Votto:What the Reds poor start is like for veteran first baseman
“He hasn’t been able to break through to go full speed,” Reds Manager David Bell said of India before the IL move was announced.
When India returned from the IL last Tuesday, he said it was more precautionary and not a serious injury. The injury, however, hasn’t progressed as the Reds expected.
“He hasn’t been able to run full speed and there’s enough concern there,” Bell said. “Feeling a little tight.”
The Reds have a league-leading 13 players on the IL, though catcher Tyler Stephenson (concussion) is expected to rejoin the club for its next series in Milwaukee.
Fraley injured his knee on the Reds’ last West Coast road trip. He’s hitting .116 this season with two doubles, one homer and three RBI in 43 at-bats.
“Just continued knee soreness,” Bell said. “Just trying to put a stop to that and not keep aggravating it. … I don’t think he knows exactly what it is. I don’t think our medical staff knows exactly what it is.”
Fraley was out of the starting lineup for five games because of knee soreness when the Reds played in San Diego and played host to the St. Louis Cardinals.
More:Daugherty: Criticizing David Bell for the Reds’ problems is misguided
More:‘A literal dream come true’: Reds add Phillip Diehl, a Cincinnati native, to bullpen
More:Phil Castellini apologizes to Reds employees: ‘I let my frustration get the best of me’
“I think he might have been feeling it all along,” Bell said. “I think it just got to a point (Saturday) night where he didn’t feel like he should keep playing through it. He feels it mostly running and also feels it hitting.”
CONNNOR OVERTON OK WITH OUTING
The results were phenomenal for Connor Overton’s first Major League start of the season, allowing one run and three hits across 5 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Rockies, but there were areas he wasn’t thrilled about.
“I think I did some things well, some things I could have done better,” Overton said. “I was falling behind a few guys, not executing certain sliders in certain counts.”
Overton threw six different pitches in Saturday’s start: Four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.
“He’s evolved over the years,” said catcher Aramis Garcia, who caught Overton when they played together in Double-A of the San Francisco Giants’ farm system. “Just giving guys so many different looks now, which is awesome. That pays off on nights like tonight where one pitch is making him fall behind or whatever, he’s able to get guys out other ways.”
Despite falling behind in counts, Overton was efficient. He threw 75 pitches before Bell pulled him ahead of his third time through the Rockies lineup.
“I think that’s the most encouraging thing,” Garcia said. “I don’t even think his fastball command from him was as good as it normally is for him, as good as he expects it to be. To come into Coors Field, hold these guys off to one or two runs without your best stuff, I think is something that is really encouraging for him. I’m really happy he’s here. He makes us better.”
ARAMIS GARCIA’S BIG ARM
Garcia threw out his second attempted base stealer of the season in the first inning Saturday, firing a missile to second base to beat a sliding Connor Joe by a wide margin.
For the final out of the third inning, Garcia threw behind Dom Nuñez at first base after blocking a pitch in the dirt.
“It’s been a little bit of a slower start for me, I guess, throwing guys out,” Garcia said. “That’s something I pride myself on, something I feel like I do really well behind the plate. It was definitely good to get those two throws off.”
www.cincinnati.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism