TORONTO — Matt Adams’s head was in the right place when he came to bat with no one on in the top of the second and the Blue Jays shifted. A ball to the left side would be a hit. A hit would mean a leadoff base runner. Why not square and bunt?
His left hand, however, was not in the right place. Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez threw a pitch inside, and Adams could not get his hand — slid up the handle in bunting position — out of the way in time. He wandered around home plate for a minute or so until trainer Paul Lessard and Manager Dave Martinez came out to check on him. He appeased them with a practice swing that did not look uninhibited, then struck out with a swing that looked downright uncomfortable. He winced while catching throws from his infielders in the bottom of the inning. By the top of the third, Matt Reynolds had replaced him at first base. The blow centered on his non-throwing index finger. He has no timetable for a return to the lineup.
“We’re going to wait to see how he reacts tomorrow, and we’ll go from there,” Martinez said. “He was hurting. He went out and played defense, went back, tried to hit and swing. He wanted to hit. But I told him, ‘Hey, I know you couldn’t swing. Let’s not chance it.’ We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Adams is second on the team with 13 homers, and has been a middle-of-the-order staple in Ryan Zimmerman’s absence due to an oblique injury. Zimmerman is still traveling with the team, seemingly not nearing a rehab assignment. The Nationals can absorb a blow to their first base corps, as they do have Matt Reynolds available and could move Daniel Murphy to first base for the short-term— perhaps finding a solution to the problem of where to put him when they no longer have the luxury of a designated hitter. Reynolds took over Friday night and will likely start there if Adams cannot go Saturday.
“I mean, I knew from the get-go it was bad, but I wanted to do everything I could to stay out there,” Adams said. “I don’t like coming out of the games and putting other guys in tough position, so tough situation.”
Adams missed time this month when he fouled a ball off his foot, a problem that did not grow into more. The Nationals must hope this one doesn’t, either, though they haven’t had much luck with injuries.
“I think about it as I’m not going to try to bunt for a while,” Adams said, cracking a small smile. “It’s just part of the game; it is what it is and stuff like this happens. Stuff like this happens, and it’s good to stay in a good mind-set about it.”
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