Rumfield (right hand contusion) leaves game after HBP
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LOS ANGELES -- The crack of a 96.6 mph fastball meeting a batting glove is a sound that can instantly quiet a stadium, and on Monday, it may have handed the Rockies' offense a difficult blow.
First baseman TJ Rumfield exited Monday night's series opener at Dodger Stadium with a right hand contusion after getting hit with an Emmet Sheehan fastball in the top of the first inning. The early departure leaves a glaring, 6-foot-5 void in the heart of a Colorado lineup that has relied heavily on his production.
The injury occurred when an inside pitch caught Rumfield squarely on the hand. He immediately walked toward the railing of the visitors' dugout, visibly in pain and shaking his hand to regain feeling. Attempting to push through the obvious pain, he stayed in the game to run the bases.
He even took the field for the bottom of the first inning, attempting to test his grip by firing warmup ground balls across the diamond. However, the discomfort proved too severe to push through, forcing him to exit before the Dodgers took their first swings. Edouard Julien entered the game to replace him at first base.
The injury comes at a brutal time for a Rockies squad trying to find its footing on the road. Losing Rumfield strips Colorado of its most dependable bat. Across 53 games this season, the rookie first baseman has anchored the order with a .284 batting average and a .810 OPS. He arrived in Los Angeles swinging a particularly hot bat, hitting .348 over his last seven games, which included a solo home run on Saturday in Arizona.
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Losing a middle-of-the-order bat is difficult under any circumstance, but it is especially damaging for a team already managing a heavily depleted roster. Before the game, manager Warren Schaffer detailed an extensive injury list that kept key players like Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck back in Denver for rehab. Left-handed starter Jose Quintana also just flew home to Colorado on Sunday night to undergo imaging on his elbow.
With the offense already stretched thin, Rumfield’s presence was supposed to be the stabilizing force against a formidable Dodgers pitching staff. While official timelines have not yet been released by the club, any prolonged absence for Rumfield forces a shifting of gears for Colorado.