Saturday Bantering: Russell Martin exits game with oblique strain

Russell Martin left yesterday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a left oblique strain, the team announced after the game.

Martin removed himself from the game in between the first and second inning. In his first at-bat, Martin grounded out to the left side of the infield, grimacing as he made his way down the first base line. While catching starter Marcus Stroman’s warm-up pitches prior to the next inning, Martin took himself out of the game.

Martin will have an MRI on Saturday to fully address the injury. It’s currently unknown whether the catcher will require a stint on the disabled list.

While the Blue Jays struggle to stay healthy, it isn’t an isolated issue. Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are experiencing injury trouble with star players.

C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees was placed on the disabled list yesterday with knee inflammation, recalling Jordan Montgomery to fill his place on the active roster. While an MRI showed no structural damage, Sabathia previously worried that the injury may be the end of his career.

“Quite honestly, yes — that’s what I was thinking,” Sabathia told the New York Times. “I was in a lot of pain, and I just felt like I was letting the team down, and I was disappointed in myself for letting my knee get to this point again. So there was just a lot going through my head.”

The Red Sox could end up with Dustin Pedroia on the disabled list, as his left knee continues to swell. “I wouldn’t rule out the DL,” manager John Farrell told the Boston Globe. “We’ll see where this goes over the next 24 hours.”

This is not a joke: Don Cherry will lead the seventh-inning stretch when the Blue Jays visit Wrigley Field on August 19th.

That is all.

The Blue Jays lost 4-2 to the Pirates last night, playing sloppy defense behind a phenomenal start from Marcus Stroman. Stroman pitched eight innings without allowing an earned run. He walked one and struck out four.

Jose Bautista hit is fourth home run in five games, giving him 20 on the season. Among active players, Bautista is tied for second with eight consecutive seasons with 20 or more home runs. John Gibbons: “He’ll be up on that wall someday.”

The largest blemish in the loss was Rob Refsynder. Committing two errors that may have cost the Blue Jays the game, Refsynder also struck out four times in four at-bats. The mob is already after him for being worse than Ryan McBroom, but he’s only played nine games with the Blue Jays. Give him a chance.

Chris Rowley is set to make history as the first graduate of the United States Military Academy to play in the major leagues when he makes his start for the Blue Jays today at 1:07. Rowley, suffice to say, has been amazing in double-A and triple-A this season. He’ll be facing Trevor Williams of Pittsburgh, who didn’t allow a run in his last outing.

Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkColley. Why is Joey Votto so good? He leads all of baseball in games played, walks, OBP, OPS, and OPS+ this season.