The Milwaukee Brewers thought they had lost closer Corey Knebel for a good portion of the season if not all of it. So when an MRI revealed a left-hamstring strain, the Brewers had reason for optimism.
Knebel was placed on the 10-day disabled list and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. The Brewers recalled right-hander Adrian Houser from Class AA Biloxi to take his spot on the roster.
Knebel was injured in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 8-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Miller Park.
Knebel told reporters on Friday that he had never had any kind of hamstring issues.
“It hurt like hell,” Knebel said. “I didn’t really know what it was. Didn’t really expect it, a hammy issue on a throw. It kind of caught me off guard. I couldn’t put any pressure on it, couldn’t touch it at all yesterday. It really worried me yesterday. Then today I woke up, it felt a lot better. I was actually able to walk on it and then got some great news after the MRI.”
Knebel collected a career-best 39 saves last season and made the National League All-Star team.
Hauser was sidelined this spring by an appendectomy. He was scheduled to pitch Saturday for Biloxi before getting the call from the Brewers.