Hamstring Injury to Knock Out Kyle Schwarber For a While

Washington Nationals left fielder Kyle Schwarber was the National League's Palyer of the Month in June, but a serious hamstring injury is going to sideline him for several weeks.

Kyle Schwarber ripped another baseball into the outfield, and the Washington Nationals left fielder was immediately thinking about stretching it into a double. But as soon as he took off Friday night, he felt something grab.

And he knew it wasn't good.

It's not. An MRI on Saturday revealed that baseball's hottest power hitter has a serious hamstring strain. No surgery is needed, but he's going to spend the next several weeks on the injured list, getting treatment for a return probably sometime in August.

“I hit the ball and thought it was a good chance to try to extend it into two,” Schwarber said. “[The] ball was in the gap, so [Cody Bellinger, Dodgers center fielder] was going to have to make a perfect throw. I tried to pick it up into another gear and felt this pop and that’s when I kind of shut it down.”

It's a devastating injury for the former Indiana and Chicago Cubs star, who signed a one-year deal with the Nationals in the offseason. He had a June for the ages, hitting 16 home runs in 18 games, something that's only been done twice before in major-league history.

And now he's done, at least for the foreseeable future.

“You're angry when it first happens, just because you don't want to miss any time away from the team,” said Schwarber. “That's the best way to handle it. I think for me, you have to be able to accept it and you have to be able to find a way to go about your next steps

"I guarantee you, whenever I come back, that it will be the soonest possible that I would be able to come back.”

Most MLB are right at the halfway point in their schedule, so there's still plenty of time for Schwarber to get back. The Nationals, thanks his June hot streak, moved from last place to second in the National League East race, and trail the New York Mets by 3.5 games.