The top of the eighth inning started off very well for the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals. Its finish, however, was not good at all.
Not only did the Tigers fail to score after having runners on second and third with no outs, but they also had one of their best hitters go down. Victor Martinez tried to score from third on a grounder hit by Andy Dirks. The throw beat Martinez home by a mile, and as he tried to avoid the tag he hurt his knee.
Upon being tagged, Martinez hopped behind home plate on one leg before going down in pain. He had to be helped off the field and the Tigers are saying Martinez sprained his left knee. From Jason Beck:
Left knee sprain for Martinez. He'll be evaluated further tomorrow.
Trying to fend off the Indians for the division title, the Tigers cannot afford to lose a player like Martinez. They have to be hoping right now that this was simply a minor injury that looked like it could have been much worse. If Martinez is out for any extended period of time, that would be a big blow to the Tigers lineup.