Gomez sprains shoulder in collision with wall

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy feared the worst when he saw the replay on the Miller Park video board of Carlos Gomez's fourth-inning injury Sunday.

"I thought he broke his collarbone again, I really did," Lucroy said, referring to a 2011 injury that kept Gomez out a month. "They showed a replay on it and it scared me, man. It looks terrible."

Lucroy and the Brewers seem to be able to breathe a little easier now after an awkward-looking injury of Gomez slamming into the center-field wall came away with what the team is calling a sprained left shoulder. Gomez was evaluated by team doctors following the Brewers' 7-4 loss to the Braves, but he said X-rays showed no broken bones and an MRI was not necessary.

The center fielder is day-to-day.

"Right now it's a little sore. I think we'll wait until tomorrow and see how it feels," said Gomez. "I [didn't feel anything] in my collarbone. I don't think it's going to take a lot of time. In a few days I'll be fine."

Gomez leaped to make a highlight-reel catch on a fourth-inning Andrelton Simmons drive, but he mistimed his jump and ended up pinning his left arm against the wall in center.

Gomez, who said he felt his shoulder pop out and back in, immediately grabbed it while lying on the warning track. The potential All-Star met the Brewers training staff in the outfield and continued to hold his left shoulder all the way to Milwaukee's first-base dugout.

"When I jumped, I [expected] the wall to be more close to me," Gomez said. "And when I jump and stay a long time in the air, I [said], 'Oh my God. This is going to hurt.' I thought I was going to hurt my head or my neck. But I got lucky I put my shoulder out."

Lucky is one way to put it. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke might be wondering if the luck is the other way around. Milwaukee is already without Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, and Aramis Ramirez has been playing through an injury as well.

"I think you could tell right away, the way he went into the wall and the way that really he didn't move after," Roenicke said. "It's pretty easy to see ... when he's hurt. Calling it a sprained shoulder right now, so hopefully it's not going to be too bad. It could be a couple days, it could be a week. We'll know more tomorrow when they take a look at him."

Gomez, who was also hit in the knee by a pitch Sunday, entered the game batting .314 with 12 home runs, 37 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Lucroy said he's one bat the Brewers can't do without.

"I'm glad to hear that it's just a sprain, he's going to be OK," Lucroy said. "He's a big stick and an important part of our team and our lineup, so we need him back in there."