Astros, Dodgers wounded, reeling, Preseason openers take toll on NFL
Last year’s World Series contestants, the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers, are struggling to lead their divisions, with injuries being a major issue for both teams.
Dodgers closer Kenley Jackson to miss one month due to irregular heartbeat
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Astros devastated by absence of Altuve and Springer
Houston’s lead in the American League West is shrinking with MVP second baseman Jose Altuve and All-Star center fielder George Springer on the disabled list, along with standout pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Chris Devenski.
The pitching losses are not insurmountable, to take nothing away from two of the most visually impressive pitches in the sport, McCullers’ knuckle-curveball and Devinski’s Circle of Death changeup. But the Astros are deep in starting and relief pitching. Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock excel in both roles.
Far more damaging is the loss from the lineup of Altuve and Springer. The Astros are 6-9 in Altuve’s absence since July 26 with a sprained knee. They’re 2-4 since Springer left Aug. 5 with a thumb injury.
Without Altuve (.857 OPS) and Springer (.772) the Astros are all but incapable of big innings. In the 6 games in which both were out, the team has scored 18 runs.
The team is hopeful of Springer returning to the lineup Friday. Altuve admitted he’s not progressing rapidly. Best estimate is he’s out until early September.
NFL opens preseason with a flurry of injuries
Even though most teams played their starters for less than a quarter of the game, the first week of the 2018 preseason – and also the pre-preseason — knocked out some important players for an extended period.
Green Bay’s starting inside linebacker Jake Ryan suffered a season-ending knee injury before the first preseason game. The new starter, third-round rookie Oren Burks, was pushed back in the run game in the opener but was better in pass coverage than Ryan had been.
Washington’s second-round draft pick, Derrius Guice, suffered a season-ending knee injury on a 34-yard run against New England.
Carolina’s starting right tackle Daryl Williams suffered a torn knee ligament and dislocated patella and will miss at least half the season.
A.Q. Shipley, the Arizona Cardinals’ starting center for the past two seasons, suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
Nick Easton, starting guard of the Minnesota Vikings, will miss the entire season with a neck injury.
Johnathan Cyprien, starting strong safety for the Tennessee Tiltans, suffered a torn ACL in practice and is out for the season. They appear to have a capable replacement in Kenny Vaccaro.