This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Fans never would have known it by watching Luis Arraez slap three hits around the park Saturday during the San Diego Padres’ 4-0 home win over the Atlanta Braves.
But the Padres’ first baseman has been playing through a thumb injury that he says could keep him out of Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas.
However, Arraez said he plans to play Sunday when San Diego and Atlanta close their weekend series and head into the break.
“I don’t need to take a day,” Arraez said. “I don’t want to. I come here every day to play baseball.”
Saturday’s 3-for-4 effort snapped a 1-for-15 skid for Arraez, who was hitting only .275 since June 25, when he hurt the thumb after sliding into third against the Washington Nationals. Arraez has also been playing through a shoulder injury suffered on June 2 against the Royals in Kansas City.
He has donned a wrap around the injured thumb that he says hurts him on every swing and every ball he fields. However, Arraez confirmed that an imaging test revealed no fracture.
Injuries have been as much a part of the Padres’ season as pine tar and rosin bags.
They’re currently playing without their top two starting pitchers (Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove) and All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. They’ve also done without second baseman Xander Bogaerts for nearly two months.
But they can still get a series win before the All-Star break if they get a solid outing on Sunday from right-hander Randy Vasquez (2-4, 4.66 ERA).
Vasquez last worked on July 5, allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He received a no-decision in San Diego’s 10-8 win after the Padres’ bullpen blew a 7-2 lead in the ninth inning.
The second-year pitcher is 0-2 with a 4.82 ERA in his career against the Braves.
Meanwhile, Atlanta will run All-Star Chris Sale (12-3, 2.74) to the mound.
Sale last pitched Tuesday night, stopping Arizona 6-2 in Phoenix as he struck out nine over 5 1/3 innings and threw 100 pitches. He’s 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in three starts against San Diego, including a 3-0 win on May 20.
This is Sale’s best season since 2018, when he went 12-4 and fanned 237 batters in 158 innings for the Boston Red Sox, who won the World Series.
Sale was often injured and occasionally ineffective in four seasons since then — he missed 2020 entirely — but has resembled a true No. 1 starter from the jump this year.
“It’s fun watching him compete,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker of Sale. “It’s just his stuff and the whole shooting match.”
Sale won’t pitch in the All-Star Game because of his start on Sunday, but he’s more than fine with that. He’d rather push his team into the break on a positive note and perhaps earn his MLB-high 13th win.
“I like to stay focused and keep my eyes on what’s important and take the ball when I need to,” Sale said.
Sale will travel to Texas for the Midsummer Classic with teammate and fellow left-hander Max Fried, who was named as a replacement for the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ranger Suarez. Fried is 7-5 with a 3.08 ERA across 18 starts this season.
–Field Level Media
