Blue Jays lose center fielders Clase and Straw to injury in consecutive innings against Arizona

TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays lost center fielders Jonatan Clase and Myles Straw due to injuries within two innings Tuesday night against Arizona.

Clase, who started in center, exited after being hit on the right knee by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth. Straw, his replacement, departed after crashing into the wall and spraining his right ankle while chasing down a double in the top of the fifth.

Clase went down in pain after he was hit by a 93 mph sinker from Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. Clase stayed in to run the bases, but the inning ended when the next batter, Bo Bichette, flied out.

The Blue Jays said Clase left because of a bruised right knee.

Four batters into the next inning, Straw slammed into the wall and went down while trying to catch Josh Naylor’s RBI double.

Naylor put his hands on his head as he looked out at Straw, his former Cleveland teammate, lying prone on the field. The Arizona slugger then walked all the way out to the wall to check on Straw.

Naylor and Straw were teammates for parts of four seasons in Cleveland and became good friends in that time.

“He’s a fierce competitor, incredible athlete,” Naylor said. “He’s a dear friend of mine and I just wanted to make sure he was OK. We got really close over our years in Cleveland and I’m very thankful for the relationship we have. I hated to see him go down. He’s like a brother to me, so I just wanted to make sure he’s all right.”

Straw eventually got to his feet and walked off the field through an outfield gate. He was replaced by rookie Alan Roden.

Straw called Naylor “one of my best friends in the game,” adding that he doesn’t expect to be sidelined too long.

“That’s just who he is,” Straw said of Naylor. “He’s a lover. He truly cares about everyone.”

Toronto rallied for a 5-4 victory.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb