The first pitch was thrown at 12:35 p.m. for Thursday's Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds game. After five innings, Reds' starting pitcher Homer Baily was forced to leave the game due to an apparent right knee injury.
In 2014, Homer Bailey is 8-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 18 starts. His 19th start took place this afternoon against Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs, but it was cut short when he was taken out of the game in the sixth inning after attempting to deliver a pitch to Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro. It appeared Bailey's right leg remained planted as his body was turning near the end of his delivery. Upon leaving the game, he pointed to a spot on the mound and walked off the field with team trainer Paul Lessard and Reds' manager Bryan Price.
Bailey, who signed a six-year $105 million contract before this season, is believed to have experienced pain in the patellar tendon of his right knee. But he's not the only Red to suffer an injury as of late. All-star first baseman Joey Votto has had injury troubles this year and was placed on the disabled list on Tuesday. Center fielder Billy Hamilton and second baseman Brandon Phillips are both day-to-day after leaving Wednesday's game against the Cubs with injuries as well.
The Reds are 49-42, currently sitting in third place in the National League Central division. They can't afford to have important players such as Bailey, Hamilton, Phillips, and Votto missing a significant amount of time because of the division's tight race. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the pack with a 52-40 record, but close behind are the St. Louis Cardinals (50-42), Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates (47-44). Luckily the all-star break is next week, so these players will have an opportunity to rest.
The 28-year-old Bailey has remained relatively healthy since his first major league start in 2007. Despite suffering from shoulder inflammation from 2010-2011, he has managed to start at least 22 games in each season from 20011-2013. The Reds were careful with Bailey in 2009 because they were concerned with development issues, but from 2011-2013 Bailey saw the most action of his career, starting a total of 87 games with a 3.86 ERA over that time span.
He left the game with a 4-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs, but it's now tied 4-4 in the 12th inning. You can watch the gamecast on ESPN.com.
