TORONTO (AP) -Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay is expected to miss four to six weeks after breaking a bone in his right hand.
Overbay was injured when he was hit by a pitch from Chicago White Sox left-hander John Danks in the third inning of Sunday’s game. Overbay stayed in the game to run, but was replaced at first base by Matt Stairs to start the fourth.
“It’s always going to hurt right off the bat, but I just knew,” Overbay said. “It got worse as the day went on.”
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez for arguing that Overbay had swung at the pitch and should not have been given first base.
“I’m not going to fault him for arguing that,” Overbay said.
Overbay, 30, is batting .256 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 55 games this season.
“It’s frustrating because I was feeling better and feeling like I had a chance out there and getting some consistency,” Overbay said.
A seven-year veteran, this will be Overbay’s first trip to the disabled list. Stairs is expected to get the bulk of the playing time at first base in Overbay’s absence.
Blue Jays right-hander Shaun Marcum also left Sunday’s game after three innings with tightness in his back.
“Even when I was warming up, it was a little bit stiff,” Marcum said. “I thought it would get better as the day went on and it didn’t.”
Marcum’s injury isn’t considered serious and he’s expected to make his next start.
Overbay is the ninth Toronto player on the disabled list, joining other regulars such as left-handed starter Gustavo Chacin, outfielder Reed Johnson, closer B.J. Ryan and catcher Gregg Zaun. Eleven Toronto players have spent time on the DL so far in 2007.
“It’s almost comical when you start thinking about all of the guys that have gone down,” Overbay said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Hopefully we can get through this and tread water and we’ll be getting all of our guys back soon.”
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