Zack Cozart Catches Break, Back in the Reds’ Lineup

When Reds’ starting shortstop, Zack Cozart tried bunting only to be hit in the finger with a pitch, he thought he was going to be out awhile. The finger area is mostly just bone and it’s always dangerous to bunt for that very reason, particularly for pitchers who have to hit in the National League.

For Cozart, he was just trying to lay one down in the 13th inning in a game against the Marlins. The Reds went on to win 3-2 on Saturday and Cozart was back in the lineup Monday night against the Cubs.

What could have been a broken finger turned out to be two days off.

Cozart left the game immediately after being hit and still thought he had suffered a DL type of injury even after X-Rays came back negative. Instead, Cozart’s fingers, which had never been hit by a pitch before in his career, made a quicker-than-expected recovery.

The news comes as a huge break for the Reds, who have already been dealing with a great deal of early injuries.

Starter, Johnny Cueto, reliever, Sean Marshall, and position players, Ryan Ludwick and Ryan Hannigan are all spending time on the DL for assorted reasons. Losing the starting shortstop would have only made matters worse for the NL Central favorites.

Instead Cozart played extra frames and was hitless with a walk and a strikeout in his first four at bats, sparing a roster move for the 11-8 Reds, who entered Monday tied for the division lead with the St. Louis Cardinals.