OAKLAND, Calif. – The Toronto Blue Jays expect Edwin Encarnacion to land on the disabled list after he felt a pop in his right quadriceps while beating out a double-play relay at first base in the first inning of Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Oakland.
Encarnacion stretched out for the bag with his left leg and then pulled up with his right leg, losing his balance and rolling over several times.
He eventually needed help from trainers George Poulis and Mike Frostad to get off the field, and is to have an MRI Sunday morning to determine the full extent of his injury.
“I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t a DL, for a couple of weeks at least,” said manager John Gibbons. “I don’t know that for sure yet.”
The sight was a frightful one for the Blue Jays, who are already badly beaten up and can ill-afford the loss of their team leader in home runs (26) and RBIs (70). His effort allowed Jose Reyes to score from third, earning a very costly RBI.
“I felt a pop before I touched the base, so that’s why after I touched the base I let my body fall to the ground,” said Encarnacion. “I felt a lot of pain.”
Adam Lind entered the game in Encarnacion’s place, and he’s been hobbled by a foot injury. Jose Bautista is nursing a hamstring problem, Colby Rasmus recently jammed his wrist and Steve Tolleson was out of Saturday’s lineup after turning his ankle.
Brett Lawrie is on the disabled list with a broken finger, and the Blue Jays have lost 12 of their past 18 outings.
“Of course, in this moment I don’t want to go to the DL, I want to be playing, helping my team to win games,” said Encarnacion. “That’s what we need right now, we don’t need me to go to the DL, it’s going to be very frustrating for me. We’ll see what happens.”