Ceciliani injures shoulder while hitting HR
Blue Jays outfielder likely headed to DL with partial dislocation
ATLANTA -- The Blue Jays just can't seem to avoid the injury bug. Even when they're hitting home runs.
Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani hit a two-run homer during the third inning of Thursday night's 9-0 win over the Braves, but on the swing he sustained a partial subluxation of his left shoulder, which in layman's terms means a partial dislocation.
Ceciliani is expected to be placed on the 10-day disabled list prior to Friday night's game against the Orioles. If that happens, he will become the 10th Blue Jays player on the 10-day or 60-day DL. The injuries just won't seem to stop.
"It's getting a little comical," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said after the game. "It's like, 'OK, next.' ... But he smoked that ball. He had a nice double, too. He did say he felt it after his first at-bat. He felt something in there and then boom."
Ceciliani hit an RBI double in the first inning, stepped into the batter's box again in the third and this time unloaded on a 2-1 changeup from Julio Teheran that was sent over the wall in right field. According to Statcast™, Ceciliani's second career homer was projected to travel 424 feet and left his bat at 109.2 mph.
The swing was perfect, the aftermath anything but. As Ceciliani stepped out of the batter's box, he grabbed his left shoulder and he did not move his arm while running the bases. Upon his return to the dugout, Ceciliani almost immediately went into the Blue Jays' clubhouse and he did not return.
"I felt a little discomfort in my shoulder after the first AB," Ceciliani said. "Just felt a little clicking and just some weird pains. My second AB, I came up and as I finished my swing, just felt like a little subluxation and it didn't feel too good."
Dwight Smith Jr., who was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo earlier in the day to replace the suspended Kevin Pillar, entered the game in left field while Ezequiel Carrera moved over to center. Smith was hitting .297 with three homers and 17 RBIs for the Bisons in 36 games this season.
Ceciliani is scheduled to undergo further tests in Baltimore on Friday to determine the extent of the damage in his shoulder. More details on the injury will not be known until that time, but he's not expected to be back anytime soon.
That will place him in a group of Toronto's walking wounded that includes Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, Josh Donaldson, Francisco Liriano, J.A. Happ, Steve Pearce, Dalton Pompey, Bo Schultz and Glenn Sparkman. It doesn't include Pillar, who is not eligible to return from his suspension until Saturday in Baltimore.
"I did something like that at the beginning of last year," Ceciliani said. "I missed a little bit of time at the beginning of the year but I felt good. I felt good coming into today. Felt healthy. Just kind of a freak deal."