Ryan Braun expects to return soon from back spasms

Cincinnati — While he missed the Milwaukee Brewers' series finale with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, Ryan Braun seemed fairly confident that the lower back spasms he's been suffering won't be a lingering issue.

"I'm OK," he said before the game. "Sore, but as back spasms typically go, just get treatment as much as I can today, hope that it gets better and do the things I can to get back as soon as possible."

The issue cropped up during batting practice before Saturday's game, and he wound up playing just one inning — striking out swinging in the top of the first — before giving way to Logan Schafer.

"I don't know if it was one specific swing in BP, but I felt it during BP and thought that I'd do what I could to play through it," Braun said. "And it just wasn't mobile enough for me to be able to really move around."

"All I can do is get multiple rounds of treatment today and see where we're at throughout the course of the day and tomorrow."

Braun doesn't have much experience with back spasms, but they're not something that typically lingers.

"It shouldn't, knock on wood," he said. "We should hopefully knock them out, and it's something that should go away."

Braun has also dealt with a nerve issue in his right thumb as well as a right oblique strain that forced him out for 14 games.

The timing of Braun's absence isn't great from a couple of perspectives.

Not only do the Brewers want to continue to play well with the first half of the season coming to a close, but Braun has been looking better at the plate. He's currently hitting .288 with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

Knowing early on that Braun wouldn't be ready to go allowed manager Ron Roenicke put together a lineup that featured Jean Segura hitting second with Schafer down in the eighth spot. On Saturday, he was forced to bat Schafer in Braun's second spot, giving him two straight left-handed hitters with Scooter Gennett leading off.

"I didn't like yesterday," Roenicke said. "I talked to him before the game, and I told him, 'I don't want you in there if I'm having to take you out of there.'

"Because you set up a lineup for certain personnel, and when a guy comes out of a lineup or you think he has a good chance of coming out of a lineup, now I've got two left-handers back-to-back, which now allows them to bring in their two left-handers if it works out in the game, to get your two lefties.

"That's not an ideal way to do it."


(jsonline.com)