Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marco Estrada delivers a pitch during first inning American League MLB baseball action against the Boston Red Sox in Toronto on Friday, September 9, 2016.Peter Power/The Canadian Press
This could explain lot.
Marco Estrada, the Toronto Blue Jays' struggling starter, has been pitching with a herniated disk in his back, manager John Gibbons confirmed on Thursday.
The information was first reported by Jon Morosi of the MLB Network ahead of the Blue Jays' game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Gibbons said Estrada, 33, has pitched through the herniated disk all season and that the injury was first discovered as far back as spring training.
Estrada originally hurt himself during the offseason trying to emulate a difficult abdominal exercise known as the dragon fly that was made famous by martial arts icon Bruce Lee.
He started complaining of back soreness early in spring training, and the Blue Jays limited his activities at camp. The right hander started the season on the disabled list.
When he was activated, the back issues initially appeared to be resolved and Estrada went on an incredible roll – he recorded 12 consecutive starts in which he held opponents to five hits or less while working six-plus innings, a Major League Baseball record.
Estrada's efforts got him named to the all-star team in July, but he had to skip the gala after landing on the DL once again because of back woes.
Since then, Estrada has not been able to maintain the kind of consistency that he displayed over the first half of the season, going 3-6 in his last 10 starts, with a 5.47 earned run average.
Estrada has insisted repeatedly in recent weeks that his back has not been an issue.
He was last on the mound on Wednesday when he allowed four runs off four hits over 5 1/3 innings during an 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. He started the game with five straight strikeouts to establish a franchise record.
"It's unreal the way this game works out," Estrada said following the Rays game. "I felt really good, I thought I made really good pitches."
The Blue Jays, struggling to make the playoffs in the American League East, begin a seven-game road trip Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif., starting with a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
After that, Toronto will travel to Seattle for a three-game series against the Mariners.
With a report from the Associated Press