Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano suffered a concussion in Game 2 of his team’s playoff series against the Texas Rangers after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Carlos Gomez.
It’s unclear when he will return to the field.
Continue for updates.
Liriano Replaced on ALDS Roster
Saturday, Oct. 8
Scott MacArthur of TSN reported the Blue Jays have replaced Liriano with Danny Barnes on their American League Division Series roster.
Latest on Liriano’s Status
Saturday, Oct. 8
Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reported Liriano is in Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol.
ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reported Liriano was released from the hospital and flew back to Toronto with the Blue Jays.
Per USA Today‘s Jorge L. Ortiz, Liriano was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher while wearing a neck brace.
Ortiz added that Liriano was being checked out after a liner off Carlos Gomez’s bat hit him in the head.
The incident occurred when Liriano tried to get out of the way of Gomez’s comebacker in the bottom of the eighth inning. The ball struck the pitcher on the side of the head and caromed into the outfield.
Liriano a Lockdown Reliever for Blue Jays
The Blue Jays starting rotation has done a terrific job of containing Texas’ offense so far in the ALDS. Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ have earned wins in each of the first two games, allowing a combined two runs on 13 hits with 11 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
Liriano pitched to four batters in Friday’s game, recording one out and allowing two runs on two hits and one walk. He tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in the Blue Jays’ Wild Card Game win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
The Blue Jays added Liriano before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline to provide depth and take pressure off Aaron Sanchez, who threw a total of 125.1 innings at the major league level over the previous two years and surpassed that total by mid-July this year.
Losing Liriano is not a problem the Blue Jays wanted to deal with at this point in the season. However, they are set up well. Sanchez, Happ, Estrada and Marcus Stroman form an excellent starting quartet alongside solid depth in the bullpen, so Toronto can get by in the short term without the big left-hander.
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