Henderson Alvarez had a rough third inning against the New York Mets, and the Miami Marlins felt it was health-related. Mike Redmond and the Fish pulled Alvarez out of the game with a left oblique strain.
Henderson Alvarez was looking decent through the first two innings of today's Labor Day contest between the Miami Marlins and New York Mets. However, early on in the game, color commentator Tommy Hutton noticed that Alvarez's velocity was lower than usual and was concerned that there was a change in either pitch selection or mechanics associated with an injury.
In the third inning, this became more of a concern for Marlins manager Mike Redmond and the training staff. Dilson Herrera led the inning off with a home run, but it was the subsequent hit parade that occurred that got the Marlins thinking. Wilmer Flores singled, and that was followed by a botched attempt by Alvarez to get the lead runner on a Zack Wheeler bunt. The Marlins could not turn a double play on the next at-bat, and Alvarez then walked Curtis Granderson to load the basis and allowed an easy line drive single up the middle to David Wright. Marcell Ozuna airmailed the throw into the Marlins' dugout, clearing the bases and scoring three runs.
Right after that, Hutton made the velocity comment again, and almost on cue Mike Redmond came out of the dugout and approached Alvarez with the infield surrounding them. Alvarez walked back before angrily putting the ball in Redmond's hands, and just like that the righty was pulled from the game. Brad Hand entered to replace him.
Later on, word came back that Henderson Alvarez suffered a left oblique strain. He is currently listed as day-to-day. Stay tuned to Fish Stripes for more on the coverage.