If you missed it yesterday, Diamondbacks starter Jason Marquis broke his fibula on a comebacker during the Dbacks-Mets game. He’s done for the year.
Crazy thing: he broke it on an Angel Pagan line drive in the third inning. But he stayed in the game, finished the inning and then pitched to two batters -- giving up a homer to Lucas Duda and retiring Jason Bay -- before falling down to the ground while throwing a pitch to Josh Thole in the fourth. The pitch hit Thole, and Marquis was pulled. Did the adrenaline wear off, or did Marquis exacerbate the injury by staying in? I suppose those things aren’t mutually-exclusive.
Losing Marquis is tough. No, not because he’s been great or anything -- he certainly hasn’t -- but because his potential replacements aren’t any better. Zach Duke, who finished yesterday’s game and got the win, is the most likely candidate, and he’s sporting a 5.05 ERA in swingman duties this year. Micah Owings is another, but he’s not a guy you want starting games in a pennant race.
I assume that Kevin Towers does not believe that nine innings of Single-A experience is enough for this year’s first round draft pick Trevor Bauer, but that would be pretty fun to watch. If you doubt that, check out this really well-timed article in SI about Bauer. After reading it you’ll want to see him ASAP yourself.
Anyway, bye-bye Marquis.
