Villar lands on DL with lower back strain

PHOENIX -- Brewers second baseman Jonathan Villar was placed on the 10-day disabled list Saturday because of a lower back strain hours before they played the D-backs in the middle of a three-game series at Chase Field, a team spokesperson announced.
Villar was replaced on the 25-man roster by outfielder Lewis Brinson, who was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he was batting .312 with six homers and 25 RBIs in 45 games.
Villar was removed from the eighth inning of Milwaukee's 8-6 win over Arizona on Friday after making a lunging catch on Chris Herrmann's hopper seemingly ticketed for right field.
"He's pretty sore today," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said about Villar. "Really, we wanted to check on how he was doing this morning. He was pretty sore when he got out of bed, so that precipitated the DL move. It's going to be a little while before we find out how he recovers."
Villar made the throw to first, nabbing Herrmann as Brandon Drury took third, but could not get to his feet after the play. After the game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell revealed that Villar suffered back spasms and had X-rays before leaving the ballpark.

Villar crumbled to the ground after making the throw and sat prone while he was attended to by the Brewers' medical staff. He was finally removed from the field on a cart. Counsell said he thought Villar had injured himself on the jarring impact.
It was a tremendous play and saved the Brewers a run, as Drury hit a leadoff double off Carlos Torres and would have scored if the grounder had eluded Villar's grasp. Grégor Blanco lined out to Eric Sogard, who replaced Villar at second, for the inning's second out. And Corey Knebel came in to strike out David Peralta for the final out.
Despite his 2-for-5 effort, including an RBI double in the Brewers' three-run first inning, Villar went on the DL hitting .213 in 59 games. He started 54 games at second base in his first full season solely playing that position.
"It's a back strain," Counsell said. "It's hard to tell how long it will take. We hope it goes fast and he's ready to go, but I don't have a time frame for you. We're hoping he comes up after the flight Tuesday in St. Louis and he's antsy to go. Then will be at the short end of it. We just have to wait and see."