State College Spikes third baseman Carlos Silva will be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Silva was relegated to the clubhouse with his left forearm heavily bandaged and his arm in a sling Tuesday. He was drilled in the hand by a pitch during the third inning of the Spikes game against Aberdeen. Silva said he broke his ring and pinky fingers on his left hand. He said the broken fingers will cause him to miss at least six weeks.
While Silva is frustrated about not being able to play baseball, he was quick to point out that injuries are just another part of the game.
"I was waiting for my new chance here at home but something happened, and it's just part of baseball," Silva said of the injury. "And this time it's me."
With a fastball thrown in toward his body, the slugger tried to coil out of the way.
Unable to avoid the pitch, Silva fell to the ground clutching his left hand. While the medical staff tended to the Venezuelan, his teammates looked on with concern.
In a game where the Spikes only recorded three hits, Silva's hot bat could have been useful. He was hitting .357 coming into the seven-game home stand and even though he only saw action in eight games, he had provided the offense with a spark.
In Silva's absence the Spikes (23-23) were unable to provide offensive production and fell to the Aberdeen IronBirds, 4-0.
In his last seven starts, he recorded four doubles, three RBI's and a stolen base.
For a team that has struggled with offensive consistency, Silva's injury is just the latest blow.
"It's a loss to our offensive side of the game," center fielder Evan Chambers said. "But we just need to come out with the same approach that we had last night and be aggressive we should be fine."
The injury will also leave a void at third base where Silva had been splitting time with Andy Vasquez and Pat Irvine.
While Vasquez has seen a fair amount of time at shortstop, he has struggled in the field. Vasquez's 10 errors are a team high, while Irvine is tied for second on the team with seven.
Though both have seen significantly more time than Silva, with Vasquez playing in 33 games and Irvine in 39, they haven't been as good at the plate as Silva has recently.
The Spikes will need to find a way to quickly replace Silva's offensive production and will find themselves one person down in the platoon at third base.
"I feel bad you know," Silva said. "I just hope the team plays well the rest of the way and is going to win, but it's still tough."
