Just when you thought things couldn't get better for the Royals... they got
worse. Much worse. The Montreal Royals were only 1 1/2 games behind the
first place Deadwood Outlaws and had reached the .500 mark after climbing
back from a miserable start to the season.
Salomon Torres, making the start against the PVBL-leading Galena Hamsters,
struggled from the first pitch. After giving up a second hit in the first
inning (and the second run), Torres complained of tightness in his elbow.
He was immediately rushed to Montreal General Hospital where he was
diagnosed with an inflammed tendon in his elbow.
Torres will not be able to play again for at least 2 months.
Meanwhile, Jason Schmidt pitched a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings, and
convinced pitching coach Tim Burke that he deserves to return to the
rotation.
"This is a huge blow to our playoff chances," says manager Carter. "We only
have a few key players Cormier, Grace, Greer, White and Torres. We're not a
deep team so we rely on them heavily. If one of them goes down, it's hard
to replace him."
This is the second time in 2 years Torres has fallen to a serious injury.
