Well, this isn’t good. Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker lasted just two innings into Saturday’s start agains the Dodgers, and it looks like right forearm tightness is to blame. The 25-year-old righty appeared to sustain the injury sometime during the second inning, prompting a mound visit from manager Torey Lovullo and an athletic trainer in the middle of Joc Pederson’s at-bat, but he was allowed to finish out the inning before making his exit prior to the third. It’s not yet clear how severe the injury is or how long he’ll be sidelined.
This is Walker’s second season with the Diamondbacks. He’s coming off of a career year with the club, during which he went 9-9 in 28 starts with a 3.49 ERA, 3.5 BB/9 and 8.4 SO/9 in 157 1/3 innings. So far this spring, he’s helped string together two wins for the club, including his first quality start (three hits, a run and two walks in six innings) against the Cardinals last week.
Left-hander T.J. McFarland replaced Walker to start the third inning. The Diamondbacks currently lead the Dodgers 8-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
