Ketel Marte sits again with sore hand, hopes to return Thursday
Nick PiecoroLOS ANGELES — Second baseman Ketel Marte was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game on Wednesday afternoon, but he said his sore left hand is feeling better.
Asked to rate how the hand felt on a 1-to-10 scale, he gave it an eight, adding that he might be in the lineup for Thursday night’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
He first hurt the wrist in his final at-bat in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, in which he hit an infield single off Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel. He said he was slightly jammed on the swing.
“Kimbrel has good stuff and throws everything hard,” Marte said. “He got me a little bit and my hand was kind of sore yesterday.”
Marte did not start on Tuesday afternoon due to a scheduled day off, though he entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. He missed the night game and again did not play on Wednesday. Manager Torey Lovullo said he still considers Marte day-to-day and is hopeful he can return to action Thursday.
“It’s one of those things if you don’t stay ahead of it could linger for the entire year,” Lovullo said. “We don’t want that to happen.”
COVID moves
The Diamondbacks placed two more players, outfielder Cooper Hummel and reliever Kyle Nelson, on the COVID injured list, and catcher Jose Herrera is expected to be added, as well, though that move, as of late Wednesday afternoon, had yet to be announced. They join shortstop Nick Ahmed, who was placed on the injured list on Monday.
The virus appears to be running rampant, at least as it pertains to the two organizations at Dodger Stadium this week. Several members of the Dodgers’ broadcast crew tested positive this week, prompting the team to close its clubhouse to media members on Tuesday night.
The Diamondbacks followed suit, closing their clubhouse on Wednesday morning as they awaited test results. They kept it closed postgame, as well, bringing players out to speak with reporters in a hallway.
In addition to Hummel and Nelson, the club also optioned right-hander Edwin Uceta to Triple-A Reno. Those three were replaced by infielder Yonny Hernandez and right-handers Jacob Webb and Luis Frias.
With Herrera out, the Diamondbacks will need to add a catcher to give them coverage behind Daulton Varsho.
Heading home
Outfielder Alek Thomas, the son of former Chicago White Sox strength coach Allen Thomas, more or less grew up around the White Sox home ballpark, Guaranteed Rate Field. Even though the Diamondbacks will be on the north side of town to face the Cubs, Thomas said he is still looking forward to getting back to his hometown.
“I’ll have family and friends there,” he said. “It’ll be a good time to be back home.”
Thomas is off to a fast start through 11 games, hitting .314 (11 for 35) with two homers and three doubles. He said pitchers have been challenging him in the strike zone, which he said is why he has drawn only one walk. Though he isn’t happy with the way he has handled certain offspeed pitches, he generally has been satisfied with his swing decisions.
“I kind of look back at the at-bats,” he said. “They’re strikes. It’s not like I’m swinging at balls. For the most part, they’ve been strikes. It’s just on the swing decision and swinging at the right pitch.”
The numbers largely support Thomas’ view. Entering Wednesday, 57.3 percent of the pitches he had seen were in the zone, well above the major league average of 48.5 percent. He had chased (29.5 percent) a smidge more than the average hitter (28.3 percent).
Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.