News
Blanks day-to-day after exiting game
Outfielder reaggravates sore foot running out homer
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
08/29/09 12:10 AM ET
MIAMI -- After Kyle Blanks missed four starts because of an injured right foot, the Padres finally got the outfielder back in the starting lineup on Friday against the Marlins.Two innings later, he was gone again.
Blanks reaggravated his right foot injury while rounding first base after a two-run homer in the top of the second and didn't check back into the game. On Saturday, the 22-year-old outfielder left in the eighth inning with soreness in that same foot, which has been attributed to plantar fasciitis.
For now, Blanks is listed as day-to-day. But with Wade LeBlanc being recalled from Triple-A Portland to start Saturday's game after Friday night's 9-5 win, one way to open up a roster spot could be to place Blanks on the 15-day disabled list.
"We're going to see," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We're going to talk about that overnight.
"It could, possibly," Blanks said. "I can't really say right now. But we'll see what happens. I'm just hoping for the best, hoping it's nothing serious, and we'll just see from there."
Blanks' two-run homer was his 10th of the year, and it gave the Padres a 3-1 lead, in what turned into a six-run second inning that forced Marlins starter Chris Volstad from the game.
Blanks initially told Black he wanted to give the injury a chance to cool down before coming back into the game, but the Padres decided to err on the side of caution.
"It felt like it just needed to cool down, but it's something that you don't want to take lightly, no matter what," Blanks said. "We'll see what happens, I guess."
Chase Headley pinch-hit for Blanks when the Padres batted around that inning and remained in the game in left field.
Blanks is batting .341 with four home runs and eight RBIs in his last 14 games. After leaving Saturday's game early, he pinch-hit on Sunday and Thursday before returning to the starting lineup.
"The straight-ahead running had been fine all week, and he had made some turns when he had done outfield work," Black said. "But you really can't replicate game action."
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
