Báez (hand) day to day after HBP in finale

MILWAUKEE -- The sight of Javier Báez grimacing in pain in the batter’s box, having taken a fastball off the base of his left hand, was just about the last thing manager A.J. Hinch needed in Wednesday afternoon’s 6-2 loss to the Brewers. Just as Báez has been heating up at the plate, an injury could have left Báez starting from scratch.

Fortunately for the Tigers and Báez, X-rays were negative. Hinch listed him as day to day and Báez indicated after the game that he should be back in a day or two once the swelling subsides. He was flexing his hand without issue in the Tigers' clubhouse.

“I should be back tomorrow, maybe a day off, but I should be good,” Báez said.

Báez, who entered the series finale on a 10-game hitting streak, was batting with two outs in the first inning when Brewers starter Freddy Peralta lost a 93 mph fastball inside. The ball hit Báez where his hand meets his wrist, putting him in obvious pain. It’s the same hand on which he had a swollen middle finger from a slide into second base last weekend in Baltimore.

“Bad timing,” Báez said, “but I think it hit my bat, too. It hit me, but I think the bat stopped it a little bit, too.”

After an initial evaluation from the team medical staff, Báez went down the dugout steps and into the visiting clubhouse at American Family Field. Jonathan Schoop replaced Báez as a pinch-runner. Zach McKinstry, who was in the lineup at second base, moved over to shortstop for the bottom of the first inning. Schoop finished out the game at shortstop, his first game action there since 2018.

The injury couldn’t come at a much worse time for Báez, who had bounced back from a 4-for-40 start to hit .378 (14-for-37) with four extra-base hits and seven RBIs over his last 10 games. The hitting streak began the night he was benched in Toronto for losing track of outs on the basepaths. He doubled and scored the eventual deciding run on Spencer Torkelson’s second-inning single in Tuesday’s 4-3 win.

The Tigers do not have a natural shortstop on their roster after Báez, having optioned Ryan Kreidler to Triple-A Toledo last week. The fact that Kreidler finished out a doubleheader for Toledo on Wednesday afternoon was a good sign the Tigers aren’t expecting a stint on the injured list for Báez.