Mariners place shortstop J.P. Crawford on injured list with right hand contusion

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners placed shortstop J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right hand contusion and recalled infielder Ryan Bliss from Triple-A Tacoma before Monday night’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Detroit starter Framber Valdez hit Crawford in the third inning of Friday’s game, and the 31-year-old missed the final two games of the series against the Tigers. The IL move is retroactive to Saturday. Crawford is hitting .228 with 23 RBIs in 55 games, and his 10 home runs are already the third most in his career.

Seattle manager Dan Wilson said it was hard to know how long Crawford would need on the injured list. Crawford will remain with the Mariners and receive treatment during a three-city trip that concludes this weekend in Washington.

“He’s doing OK,” Wilson said. “Just coming a little bit slower than we thought, so we think it’s probably the smart thing to do at this point. It’ll be retroactive, so hopefully we’re getting him back as soon as possible. (There’s) still quite a bit of pain.”

Bliss made Seattle’s opening day roster and played in one game before getting sent to the minors. He hit .204 with a homer and 15 RBIs in 51 games for Tacoma.

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