Sunday, June 9, 2013

Ryan Braun (thumb) leaves today's game early

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun left today's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the third inning due to right thumb soreness, the team tweeted.

For Braun, it's not a new injury as he sat out Wednesday's game due to thumb soreness as well.

We’ve got to figure out what to do there,” Roenicke said (before today's game), per beat writer Adam McCalvey. “We’ve got to start going in the right direction with him, and sometimes it’s not. … I’m hoping we don’t have to [place him on the disabled list], but we start making gains and he says, ‘Yeah, I feel really good today,’ and then all of a sudden it’s a bad day and a setback.

“We keep going this back and forth. He’s out there playing, hitting third for us, and I expect the Braun that I’ve seen for the last two years, and he’s not the same. He’s still getting hits, he’s still helping us win games, but he’s not that guy that can carry a team like I know he can.”

Before leaving the game, Braun was 0-for-1 with a strike out.

Through 57 games, Braun is hitting . with nine home runs, 36 runs batted in, 30 runs scored and four stolen bases.