Ketel Marte’s night against the Braves ended early, and now the Diamondbacks are treating his left knee soreness as a day-to-day issue.
Arizona’s second baseman left Friday’s 2-0 win over Atlanta after the first inning, when he tried to field a ground ball from leadoff hitter Drake Baldwin, twisted awkwardly as he turned to throw to first and couldn’t finish the play. Baldwin reached on an infield single. Marte stayed in long enough to finish the inning, but he did not come back out after that.
The soreness wasn’t brand new. Manager Torey Lovullo said Marte had been dealing with the problem since Arizona’s series against the San Diego Padres last week, and the first-inning sequence against Atlanta made it worse. Lovullo also said Marte would not need testing and that the club hoped to get him back on the field soon.
Marte did get one plate appearance before exiting, and it was a loud one: a 103 mph lineout against Braves starter Chris Sale. After he left, Arizona shuffled its defense, with Ildemaro Vargas moving from first base to second, Tim Tawa shifting from center field to first base and Jorge Barrosa coming into center.
Marte was considered a game-time decision Saturday, but he was not in Arizona’s lineup for the middle game of the series at Truist Park.
The three-time All-Star is hitting .251 with a .763 OPS this season. He leads the Diamondbacks with 21 home runs and 68 RBIs and has played 95 games at second base. He also came into Friday having collected seven hits over his previous four games, including two homers, before the knee issue forced him out.
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