Blue Jays lose Matt Shoemaker at most inopportune time

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have lost pitcher Matt Shoemaker for the foreseeable future and it came at possibly the worst time for the veteran hurler.

The Blue Jays have strung three victories together and Matt Shoemaker is sporting an impressive 1.57 earned run average in 28.2 innings of work thus far so an apparent knee sprain suffered yesterday afternoon came at the most inopportune time.

Shoemaker suffered the injury chasing Matt Chapman back to second base in a rundown in the third inning. The 32-year old hopped on one leg before taking a seat on the field and was visibly upset when being tended to by the training staff.

According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, the prognosis is a left knee sprain for which Shoemaker will undergo an MRI for some time today. It is reported that Shoemaker was seen walking gingerly in the clubhouse following the contest.

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Sam Gaviglio replaced Shoemaker following the injury and may have earned himself a start or two in Shoemaker’s absence. Gaviglio was lights out tossing four innings of no-hit ball in relief while fanning five Athletics. If Gaviglio doesn’t draw a start then presumably it will be Thomas Pannone who has also been impressive thus far this season.

Shoemaker looks like he is going to be a valuable piece in the rotation if the Blue Jays are going to make any noise in the AL East. The Jays are beginning to show signs of life in the standings and have the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. promotion on the horizon which should not hinder their chances in the win column.

You have to feel for the oft-injured hurler after he was off to such a terrific start to begin the 2019 campaign. Hopefully, Shoemaker will receive some good news once the imaging is complete and his absence away from the team will be minimal.