Written by Todd Rosiak at MilwaukeeWisconsinJournalSentinel.com
This certainly wasn’t how Matt Garza envisioned opening the 2016 season.
Rather than making his first scheduled start for the Milwaukee Brewers against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday at Miller Park, the right-hander will instead be watching teammate Taylor Jungmann take the baseball in his place.
Garza was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, retroactive to April 2, with a strained right lat behind his shoulder. He suffered the injury April 1 while making a start in an exhibition game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
In a case of good news/bad news, Garza was heartened by the fact the injury didn’t actually involve his shoulder as previously had been thought. The downside is that he’s expected to miss as many as six weeks now as he rehabs.
The Brewers recalled reliever Tyler Cravy to take Garza’s place on the 25-man roster.
“We were hoping for better than this,” Garza said. “Just going to stay positive and keep grinding. I’m not afraid of work. It just wasn’t what I was looking forward to the beginning of April.”
Garza said he felt “a little different soreness” before making that start in Houston but chalked it up to some changes in his routine. He underwent an MRI on Monday in Milwaukee, and after meeting with team physician William Raasch the lat strain was confirmed.
Garza went 1-0 with a 4.50 earned-run average in six Cactus League starts — he pitched a team-high 22 innings in all — and left camp No. 3 in the rotation behind Wily Peralta and Jimmy Nelson.
He was also upbeat, positive and enthusiastic throughout camp as he tried to put a disappointing 2015 behind him. Garza finished last year with a 6-14 record and 5.36 ERA in 26 games (25 starts), then caused a stir with some caustic comments after being pulled from the rotation in early September.
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