MILWAUKEE -- Reds center fielder Dane Myers was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder contusion on Tuesday, a day after he exited Monday’s game against the Brewers on a cart and was sent to a local hospital after crashing into the fence while making a spectacular catch of a deep liner off the bat off of Andrew Vaughn leading off the fourth inning.
Myers collided full-force with the wall while covering 76 feet at 27.5 feet per second, according to Statcast, with his left shoulder taking the brunt of the collision. The catch came with the Reds clinging to a 1-0 lead. The Brewers rallied late to hand Cincinnati a 5-3 loss on a sweltering night at American Family Field -- but it didn’t diminish the significance of Myers’ effort.
“That was an amazing catch. He was fearless going to the wall, probably like nobody I've ever seen,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “I can't believe he held on, but he paid a pretty big price for it.”
With the ball in his glove, Myers writhed in pain on the warning track as fellow outfielders JJ Bleday and Noelvi Marte summoned for help. He remained on the ground before a cart arrived to transport him off the field.
X-rays taken at the ballpark were negative, Francona said.
“Saying that, we sent him to the hospital because he was in so much pain and so uncomfortable,” he said. “The kid was really hurting and it wasn't going away. They want to check for a lot of things. You saw how violent it was, and he was really in pain.”
Myers, who is in his first season with the Reds after spending three seasons with the Marlins, was being checked for potential shoulder, neck, rib and head injuries.
“I'm not sure he really knew where he was,” Francona said of Myers, who appeared to be dazed by the collision in addition to dealing with the pain.
The crowd at American Family Field gave Myers an ovation as he departed. He could be seen grimacing and holding his shoulder while on the cart.
The Reds held a 1-0 lead at the time of Myers’ catch with the 27-year-old driving in that lone run with a first-inning double off Robert Gasser for his 14th RBI of the season.
Myers was replaced by TJ Friedl, who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to take the active roster spot of outfielder Blake Dunn, who was placed on the injured list with a right elbow sprain.
Elly De La Cruz belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning for the Reds. It marked his third two-run homer this season. He was inserted into the starting lineup at designated hitter after spraining his ankle against the Pirates on Sunday.
Nick Lodolo pitched five scoreless innings while giving up one hit and has now shut out the NL Central-leading Brewers over a total of nine innings in the past week. Lodolo had a 6.12 ERA on the year before facing the Brewers last week. He recorded back-to-back scoreless starts for the first time in his career.
Lodolo had four strikeouts and four walks in the 96-pitch outing. He expressed frustration with the walks.
“Zeros are zero at the end of the day, but when you look at it and you break it down, I definitely think I'm making it a lot harder on myself,” he said. “I’ve got to start pitching deeper into games.”
But Lodolo’s thoughts were with Myers after the game.
“I saw him catch the ball, and when you're going full speed, like kind of going too fast, you lean forward and then he just tucked and ran into the wall,” Lodolo said of Myers. “Thank goodness he tucked, for sure, but it didn't look great.”
The Reds lost their fourth consecutive game to the Brewers this season and fell to 4-18 against NL Central opponents while the Brewers improved to 13-5.