Philadelphia Phillies Get Great News After Injury Update On Star Pitcher

Things could have been a lot worse for the Philadelphia Phillies and one of their starting pitchers after he left the game early with an injury.

Mar 9, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies finally dropped a game against the New York Mets on Thursday when they lost 6-5 in 11 innings.

They were going for their second consecutive sweep over their division rivals as they looked to extend their MLB-best record.

Taijuan Walker was handed the ball for his fourth start of the season. After beginning the year on the injured list, it looked like he was finally settling back into a rhythym that a starting pitcher needs when pitching every five days.

Unfortunately, things will be disrupted for the 31-year-old once again.

He left the game in the fourth inning after taking a line drive off his foot. The Phillies said he would undergo further testing today to see the extent of any damage which might have been caused as a result of that play.

Philadelphia and Walker received good news when the X-rays came back negative.

But, despite that positive update, it remains to be seen when the right-hander will be back on the mound.

"We'll just have to see how he comes in tomorrow. Don't know about his next start, but we'll find out a little bit more tomorrow," manager Rob Thomson said according to Paul Casella of MLB.com.

Things haven't gone smoothly for Walker so far this year after he ended 2023 on a sour note because of not appearing in a single playoff game. Still, he had earned three wins in his first three starts prior to Thursday despite having an ERA of 4.82.

The righty gave up two earned runs in the first inning but settled in after that before having to leave the game.

"I thought his split was as good as he's had -- or better than he's had -- all year, and the fastball had a little more life. I could see the life coming back to his fastball," Thomson added.

That's why Walker is so frustrated with these turn of events, but he also knows it could have been worse considering his foot was struck with a baseball traveling 99.7 mph.

"It feels better now than when it first happened ... It's definitely sore, bruised, starting to swell a bit. But could have been a lot worse ... I'm very frustrated about it, because I feel good [otherwise] ... I thought my splitter started coming back a little bit, so I felt really good with that and started throwing it more. And then this happens. Again, I'm glad it's not broken," he said.