7/5/08

John Maine leaves game with injury to non-pitching arm

Update 8:53 pm: It's been diagnosed simply as a "cramp."

John Maine
was forced to leave the game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning due to an injury to his non-pitching arm.

Maine was pitching to Ryan Howard when he grabbed his left arm, near the elbow. He's in the dugout now, and seems more frustrated than in pain.

He only allowed one hit, a three run home run in 5 2-3 innings. He was up to 103 pitches, so he was going to be done soon, but hopefully his arm is all right.

I usually get a pain near that area, and I have to simply pop the elbow, just like you would crack your knuckles. It feels tight and hurts like heck, but when you pop it, it feels much better.

Aaron Heilman came on, with a 2-2 count against Howard and needed only one pitch, a change up, to strike him out.