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The Braves’ Twitter account has become a town crier, grimly announcing the names of the team’s casualties and the maladies that have taken them down.
Mike Foltynewicz left tonight’s game with a left calf contusion. Dansby Swanson left the game with a right groin contusion.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 13, 2016
Everybody was getting contused in Atlanta last night, some people not even during a live play.
You’re going to see a lot of the goofier blogs make light of the fact that No. 1 2015 MLB draft pick Dansby Swanson was struck in his groin by a miscalculated throw to the mound by catcher Tyler Flowers. Those same blogs will tell you Swanson was standing there with Freddie Freeman and Jace Peterson when the ball sailed past pitcher Ryan Weber as he warmed up prior to the fifth inning.
Then they’ll probably show you this .gif.
Dansby Swanson exits with right groin contusion after being struck by errant throw: https://t.co/rorquLgpEX pic.twitter.com/YCnxQBVnvE
— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2016
While we were raised to think footballs to the groin were funny, that man is in pain, and had to leave the game. As a Braves fan, seeing a key piece of your future buckled over in agony emanating from his crotch is not fun, and that’s after a season of mostly not-fun things occurring. Here’s hoping Swanson’s recovery is swift.
But the incident was simply a continuation of the not-fun that had been occurring all night, as in the fourth, Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz had a 110 m.p.h. line drive bounced off his left calf by the Marlins’ Marcell Ozuna, after allowing five runs to cross the plate that inning. After departing under his own power, Foltynewicz was on crutches following the game. The starter has been slapped with a "day-to-day" tag after his X-rays came back negative.
Fortunately, the Braves banged out an unprecedented 17 hits off Miami and won 12-7.