MLB: Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler breaks foot, put on disabled list

Dexter Fowler’s difficult season has taken another downturn as the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder has sustained a broken left foot and will wear a walking boot for one month.

Fowler was put on the 10-day disabled list prior to Saturday night’s game with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Second baseman Kolten Wong was activated from the 10-day DL.

Fowler was examined by team doctors. He’ll be reevaluated after a month in the boot.

The 32-year-old Fowler was removed in the eighth inning of Friday night’s 7-6 loss to the Pirates. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Fowler was injured earlier in the game when he fouled a ball off the foot.

Fowler is hitting just .180 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 90 games. This is the second year of his $82.5-million, five-year contract.

“He was finding his feel at the plate, putting some good swings on the ball and getting the opportunity,” Mozeliak said. “Sometimes things happen for a reason. Hopefully, this gets him to a spot where he can come back better next year, though we haven’t ruled out seeing him again this year.”

Wong had been out since July 22 with left knee inflammation. He is hitting .216 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 91 games.

Cubs’ Yu Darvish ‘very optimistic’ following bullpen session

After throwing a bullpen session on Saturday, Yu Darvish said he was pain-free and is “very optimistic” about returning to the Chicago Cubs rotation this season.

Darvish threw 55 pitches, including warmups, before the game with the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field. The right-hander has been on the disabled list since late May with triceps and elbow injuries.

“All my pitches, velocity-wise, were up there at their highest and then I was able to follow through with my arm,” he said through a translator.

Darvish said he hopes to face batters in a simulated game in his next outing. He has made just eight starts for the Cubs this season, going 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA after signing a six-year, $126 million contract in the offseason.

Darvish said he began to feel better after getting treatment on his back about 10 days ago.

“Treatment-wise, I switched from treating the elbow to the spine, the back, and that triggered a more positive level,” he said. “Everything up until that point there was pain and discomfort involved. I was just trying to see alternatives.”

Darvish initially began throwing a few weeks after going on the DL, but had to be shut down in late June when he felt pain. He said he’s confidence there will be no setbacks this time. “Now that I’m pitching, I’m very optimistic,” he said.

Rangers outfielder DeShields on seven-day concussion DL three weeks later

Rangers center fielder Delino DeShields has been placed on the disabled list with post-concussion syndrome more than three weeks after banging the back of his head when trying to make a sliding catch.

The Rangers announced the move Saturday, a day after DeShields was scratched from the starting lineup because of headaches and placed on MLB’s seven-day concussion DL. The earliest he could return is next Friday.

DeShields hit his head in the sixth inning of a game at Boston on July 11. He was in then in concussion protocol but was back in the lineup when the Rangers played their next game two days later.

Manager Jeff Banister said Saturday that DeShields indicated his neck was hurting more than anything else then, and that the outfielder had “passed all impact testing pretty quickly” then.

Banister said DeShields hadn’t complained of any headaches until Friday.

Texas recalled outfielder/infielder Drew Robinson from Triple-A Round Rock.

Rays put infielder Robertson on DL with thumb injury

Tampa Bay Rays infielder Daniel Robertson has been put on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained left thumb and might miss the rest of the season.

Robertson was hurt sliding into second base on a double Friday night. He will see a hand specialist Sunday to determine if surgery will be required.

“In all likelihood it’s going to be a significant amount of time, we’re talking six to eight weeks,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said Saturday.

Robertson is hitting .262 with nine homers, 34 RBIs and has a .382 on-base percentage in 88 games.

“I went in hard,” Robertson said. “When I got up I took my batting gloves and didn’t feel anything. (Then) my thumb didn’t feel too well. I thought it was just dislocated.”

Tampa Bay purchased the contract of infielder/outfielder Brandon Lowe from Triple-A Durham. After hitting 16 homers in his first two minor league season, he has gone deep a combined 22 times this season between Double-A Montgomery (8) and Durham (14).

Lowe, with a smile, credited “eating to-go apple sauces” with his power surge.

“That kind of sparked it all,” Lowe said.

Cash said Lowe will probably start Sunday in left field. “Impacting the baseball like that, it’s hard not be noticed,” Cash said.