A’s shortstop Jed Lowrie was initially diagnosed with a bruise after taking a hard grounder off his right index finger last week, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that an MRI taken Tuesday afternoon revealed a hairline fracture.
Lowrie is hoping to play through the injury for the remainder of the 2014 season (and playoffs), but he acknowledged to Slusser on Tuesday that the fracture causes him pain when he throws -- “a burning feeling” -- and also occasionally bothers him on swings. Lowrie is 1-for-11 with four strikeouts since the grounder struck him.
This injury comes with bad timing for the AL West-leading A’s and for Lowrie, who is set to become a free agent this fall. He has hit .238 with a .671 OPS this season after batting .290 with a .791 OPS in 2013.
