Cuddyer slams into wall, exits with elbow injury
Rockies outfielder day to day, says bruise similar to getting hit by pitch
SAN DIEGO -- Rockies right fielder Michael Cuddyer left Monday night's 5-4 loss to the Padres after suffering a right elbow contusion in the bottom of the fifth, when he slammed against the fence and hit his elbow on a drain at the base of the wall while trying to catch Alexi Amarista's triple.
Cuddyer escaped major injury and said his availability is day to day. After the incident, manager Walt Weiss and head athletic trainer Keith Dugger tended to Cuddyer, then convinced him to leave the game.
"It's a bruise, and it definitely got swollen and stiff," Cuddyer said. "I think I probably could have finished the inning. But, like 'Doogie' [Dugger] said, which rang true, 10 minutes later I couldn't hardly move. I wouldn't have been able to move. It was the right thing to do.
"Hopefully, the swelling will go down and the inflammation will go down, and we'll see how quickly I can be back out there ... 100 percent day to day. It's almost the equivalent of getting hit by a pitch."
The ball hit the fence on the fly. After Cuddyer slammed into the wall, he crumpled to the turf. Center fielder Charlie Blackmon rushed over to retrieve the ball and hold Amarista to a triple, which drove in a run to cut the difference to 4-3. Blackmon's play turned out to be important as pitcher Jordan Lyles, who gave up three runs in the inning, struck out Seth Smith to preserve the lead.
Cuddyer, last year's National League batting champ, had walked twice in three plate appearances. Cuddyer, 35, has a .347 batting average with three home runs and 10 RBIs.