D-backs pitcher Patrick Corbin to miss Australia trip due to UCL injury
Mar 16, 2014, 4:16 PM | Updated: 6:35 pm
After undergoing an MRI on Saturday, it was determined that Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin had suffered damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, the team announced early Sunday.
Corbin, 24, left his outing prematurely on Saturday against the Cleveland Indians after feeling tightness in his left forearm. The exit came following his 91st pitch. He was scheduled to throw 100 pitches in his final spring training outing before heading to Sydney, Australia, where he was scheduled to start for the Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball’s regular season opener.
Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley was announced Sunday as Corbin’s replacement in the game, which is the first of two scheduled against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sydney.
“Obviously, you never want to see anything like that happen to any of your teammates,” Miley said Sunday prior to the team’s departure for Australia later in the day. “It’s unfortunate; he’s a big part of this team and it stunk last night when I got the news, but I guess it’s something you’ve got to deal with.”
Miley went on to say he was “zero percent packed” on Sunday, as he previously didn’t anticipate having to make the cross-continental trip.
“Whatever they want me to throw — I’ll be ready to throw 20 pitches or I’ll be ready to throw 100,” he said.
In four spring starts, Corbin went 1-1 with a 3.26 ERA in Cactus League play. Miley, 27, has allowed just two earned runs in 14.0 innings pitched this spring.
Significant damage, or a tear, to a pitcher’s UCL may require surgical reconstruction, which is most commonly known as Tommy John Surgery.
