Things were going quite well for Detroit Tigers starter Adam Wilk in his 2012 debut on Saturday, but a dugout-seeking foul ball off the bat of Prince Fielder changed that in quite a hurry.
Wilk was with his teammates in the dugout in the top of the sixth inning when Fielder sent a sideways missile towards his own bench on the first base side of the field. Unfortunately for Wilk, the ball drilled him square in the shoulder, connecting with such a force that led manager Jim Leyland to remark that yes, the ball did "smoke him pretty good."
Thankfully for the Tigers, the early consensus is that the 24-year-old Wilk should be fine and appears to be in line for his next start on Thursday against the Texas Rangers. He fell to 0-1 for his career with Saturday's loss, but showed enough promise (four strikeouts in five innings) to deserve an extended look as a candidate for the back of the rotation. Still, Wilks will need to shake off this fluke injury and be near the top of his game against a power-hitting Rangers lineup next week.
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