SAN DIEGO -- The X-rays on Derek Norris' right arm came back negative, after the San Diego catcher was struck by a foul ball and forced to leave Thursday night's victory over the Rockies.
Padres Andy Green said Norris petitioned to get back into the lineup Friday, but with Christian Bethancourt already on the disabled list, Green wanted to play it safe. Héctor Sánchez got the start behind the plate against Colorado.
"He felt pretty good today. Better than he expected to," Green said, "kind of fought to get in the lineup, which is pretty typical of D-No. But just kind of where we are, in September, what he was battling through last night, just gave him the down today.
"Told him to take some swings in the cage, see how he feels. And we'll look to get him back out there in the next night or so."
The timing of Norris' injury was a bit unfortunate, considering he had just hit his first home run of the second half, and reached base three additional times with a pair of walks and a hit by pitch Thursday. This season has been unkind to Norris, who is posting career low marks across the board with a .182/.251/.330 slash line.
Norris is looking at a career-worst .231 BABIP with an increased strikeout rate, despite managing the highest hard-hit percentage he's ever had. On Thursday, though, he flashed a glimpse of the Norris of previous seasons, but he'll have to wait at least one more day to get back into the lineup.
"I think the kind of year he's had it's good to get some good news for him," Green said of the X-ray results. "Like I said, he's as tough as anybody so he would have been out there playing today if he had the choice."
Green said that Norris would be available off the bench if needed, but he was unlikely to go to him unless there was an emergency in the catching department.
Cosart making progress
Green said that he didn't think Jarred Cosart (right hamstring and groin strain) would be making his next start in his usual turn in the rotation. But he was happy with how the 26-year-old was feeling of late.
"He is feeling a lot better today which was really encouraging for us. I don't know that it means like he's ready to take the ball next time around," Green said. "Might be seeing him after the off-day, which probably two days ago I didn't think was possible.
"So who knows what's possible? But it's moving the right direction."
Cosart is expected to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, and it seems like the earliest he might get back on the mound is next Friday in Colorado.