10/15/24 05:28:00
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10/15 17:26 CDT Injured Alex Cobb dropped from Guardians' ALCS roster, replaced
by Ben Lively
Injured Alex Cobb dropped from Guardians' ALCS roster, replaced by Ben Lively
NEW YORK (AP) --- Pitcher Alex Cobb was dropped from Cleveland's AL
Championship Series roster on Tuesday after he got hurt yet again in the
opener, leaving the Guardians in search of a Game 5 starter against the New
York Yankees.
Cobb left Monday's 5-2 loss after 2 2/3 innings because of hip tightness and a
back spasm. The 37-year-old right-hander is ineligible to pitch for the
remainder of the postseason.
"He was diagnosed with a lower back strain," manager Stephen Vogt said before
Game 2. "This type of injury would be a full blown IL stint, and with the
timing of the year, the chances of him pitching again were very, very, very
slim."
Cobb was replaced on the roster by Ben Lively, a 32-year-old right-hander who
was Cleveland's winningest pitcher this season at 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29
starts.
"We don't know what we're going to have," Vogt said. "Alex was going to start
Game 5. Now we have to figure out today knowing that we have six more games to
cover."
Lively and left-hander Gavin Williams are candidates to start Game 3 on
Thursday in Cleveland.
Cobb pitched just 22 innings over five games this year, including the regular
season and playoffs.
A 2023 All-Star, Cobb had hip surgery on Oct. 31 and hadn't yet returned to the
mound when he was acquired by Cleveland from San Francisco at the July 30 trade
deadline.
He made his season debut Aug. 9 and was sidelined after two games by a torn
nail on his right index finger. He didn't allow an earned run over six innings
in his Sept. 1 return against Pittsburgh, then went back on the injured list
with a blister on his right middle finger that ended his regular season.
Cobb went 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in the playoffs. He received a $10 million salary
this year under a club option that was exercised and can become a free agent
after the World Series.
Lively last pitched Sept. 28 against Houston on the next-to-last day of the
regular season.
"I'm just staying on the same workout program as I was when I was starting:
workout day, heavy bullpen day mixed in between and just try to stay built up,"
Lively said.
He has faced the Yankees once, on May 19 last year for Cincinnati, when he
allowed Aaron Judge's first-inning home run and issued a sixth-inning walk to
Judge, who scored on Anthony Rizzo's homer off reliever Ian Gibaut in a 6-2 New
York win.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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