CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carson Fulmer left Tuesday night's game early but he should be back on the mound again in time for his next start.
The Triple-A Charlotte pitcher exited in the top of the sixth inning with a cramp in his right leg, Knights manager Mark Grudzielanek said. Fulmer informed the staff he had cramped up in the third inning and received treatment. He returned to the mound but had to exit again in the sixth. The Knights lost 5-3 to the Toledo MudHens in 10 innings at BB&T Ballpark.
“He just cramped up. It was a hot night and it was his push-off leg,” Grudzielanek said. “His actions, he was feeling it so we got him out of there.
“He was a cramping up a few innings, probably the end of the third he came in a little tight, worked him out, hydrated him and tried to get him feeling a little better, loosened him up. He looked good in the fourth but it came back after the fifth.”
“Absolutely, he’ll be fine. It was cramps. It wasn’t anything other than that. You get better, you move on and he’ll make his next start and be ready to go like he always does.”
[MORE: Why White Sox prospect Lucas Giolito feels as good as he has all season]
Fulmer moved on after a slow first inning cost him three runs. The right-hander yielded a three-run homer to ex-Cubs prospect Jeimer Candelario in the first inning, one of three first-inning hits Fulmer allowed. But Fulmer, the team’s first-round pick in 2015, settled down and retired 10 straight batters.
MLB
Fulmer is 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 24 starts this season.
“He hung some pitches and got behind a little bit and when that happens you put some runners on, put a good swing on it and it leaves the park,” Grudzielanek said. “He understands the consequences when you get behind hitters.
“He looked good after that. He’s working his offspeed pitches. I thought he threw for strikes earlier in the counts and got ahead of some of the hitters and had some rollouts and some easy fly balls and he was a different pitcher there for four or five innings.”