Braves All-Star starting pitcher Mike Soroka left Monday night's game against the Mets in the third inning because of what manager Brian Snitker said after the game was a torn Achilles tendon. Soroka is out for the season.
Soroka reacted to a groundball to first base, looking to see if Freddie Freeman needed him to cover first base. Instead, on the first attempted step, something went wrong and Soroka crumpled to the ground. He was in noticeable pain and had to be helped off the field, without the ability to put much weight on the injured leg.
Here's video of the injury:
Mike Soroka has to be helped off the field after getting injured trying to cover first base.
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) August 3, 2020
Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/c9OrtccCZC
The worry from the get-go, the doomsday scenario if you will, was a torn Achilles and that's exactly the case. The Braves lose their best pitcher for the 2020 season and it might even impact 2021.
Soroka, 22, finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting as a rookie last season and is the staff ace. So far this season, Soroka was pitching to a 3.29 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. He was good in his first two starts, but walked four -- against zero strikeouts -- while allowing three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings Monday.
The Braves are now pretty thin in the rotation. Max Fried, Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint and Kyle Wright are the four remaining members. Cole Hamels is hurt. Josh Tomlin is not a reasonable option at this point. Mike Foltynewicz is in such a bad place they designated him for assignment and he got through waivers. Other options from their taxi squad include Bryse Wilson and Jhoulys Chacin.
Though the Braves started the 60-game season 7-3, Monday night is pretty clearly a very bad night for the organization. Soroka is done for a while and also has a big rehab hill to climb and the Braves were clubbed, 7-2, by the Mets.
