High ankle sprain sends Dahl to injured list

DENVER -- The Rockies placed outfielder David Dahl on the 10-day injured list with a high right ankle sprain on Saturday, a day after he was carted off the field during a game against the Giants.

The injury was confirmed by an MRI exam on Dahl, who was hurt while catching a line drive in the sixth inning of Colorado's 5-4 win.

In a corresponding move, Colorado recalled outfielder Yonathan Daza from Triple-A Albuquerque.

With the Rockies down, 4-2, and one out in the sixth, Dahl dashed toward right-center for Scooter Gennett's knuckling line drive. The ball wavered against Dahl's momentum, and his right foot became stuck beneath him as he attempted to reverse his momentum. Dahl hung on to the ball but writhed on the ground in agony.

"The ball cut on me at the last second, and I had to stop," Dahl said Saturday. "My cleat got caught, and I heard it pop -- but I didn't know if it was my knee, my ankle or my Achilles. So I was thinking the worst thing right there, and all the emotion got to me. An, 'Oh no, not again,' kind of thing.

"It's just a high ankle sprain. That can take a while to heal, so I've got to do whatever I can to heal and let it get back."

Multiple Rockies went to comfort Dahl. An instantly famous photo of third baseman Nolan Arenado holding Dahl close to his chest went viral.

“With anybody close to you, a close friend or whatever, you’re always concerned,” Arenado said, as Dahl entered the clubhouse on crutches. “To see someone in pain like that, it’s hard to see anybody like that.”

Dahl said, "That meant the world to me. I saw the picture and I started kind of tearing up, just to see the support and how much they love me and I love them."

Dahl missed the entire 2017 season with a stress reaction in a rib that also created a back injury. Last year -- before his nine-homer, 27-RBI September lifted the Rockies into the postseason -- he ended up with a fractured right foot when he fouled a pitch off it against the Giants on May 30 and didn't return until Aug. 5. This season, Dahl missed eight games in April with a core injury.

His rough history with injury goes back to the Minors. He missed most of his 2013 season in Class A with a hamstring injury and had to have his spleen removed in 2015 when he collided with a teammate while chasing a fly ball during a Double-A game.

Dahl extended his hitting streak to 10 games -- his second-longest, behind a 17-gamer to begin his career in 2016 -- with a first-inning single.

On Saturday, Dahl was moving around on a familiar device -- a knee scooter, the same one he used after last year's foot injury.

"I bought it last year, then gave it to the trainers in case anyone needed it," Dahl said. "I didn't know it would be me."

Daza, 25, is making his fourth appearance with the Rockies this year, his debut season, and is 1-for-18. But at Albuquerque, Daza has batted .364 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs in 89 games.