McCann
WASHINGTON – Braves catcher Brian McCann will meet with an eye doctor Tuesday about the blurred vision that has kept him out of the starting lineup.
He is in a 1-for-20 slump.
McCann sat out Atlanta’s game Sunday at the Pirates and was not listed in the starting lineup Monday against the Nationals.
“He can’t start. He can come into a game and help you, but right now we don’t want to start him,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said Monday.
Cox said McCann is “day to day, but it’s been dragging on.”
In other Braves injury news, outfielder Garret Anderson was unavailable Monday after leaving Sunday’s game with tightness in his left quadriceps.
Shortstop Yunel Escobar, meanwhile, was listed in Monday’s lineup after having not played since Thursday because of a strained abdominal muscle. Escobar said he was “85 percent.”
Doumit may sit for a while
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit was out of the lineup Monday night and might have to sit out the three-game series against Florida because of soreness in his right wrist.
Doumit told manager John Russell he felt a tugging in the wrist during his second at-bat of the Pirates’ 11-1 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. Doumit underwent an MRI exam on Monday.
“It was a stretch (in the wrist); he didn’t feel a pop,” Russell said. “He felt no problems until he got home.”
Doumit has a .244 average with two homers and nine RBIs.
Twins’ Crain goes on DL
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins placed reliever Jesse Crain on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder, another setback for the unstable bullpen.
The move was made Monday retroactive to Saturday after an MRI test showed inflammation in the joint. Left-hander Jose Mijares will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester before Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
Crain was solid in his first six appearances until Friday, when former teammate Torii Hunter worked an 0-and-2 count into a walk to load the bases for the Los Angeles Angels with two outs in the seventh inning. Crain then gave up two consecutive singles and another walk, leaving with four runs charged to him and an ERA that soared to 7.50.