| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Lopez expected to miss two games with bruised leg
Thursday August 21, 2003SAN FRANCISCO (AP) All-Star catcher Javy Lopez expects to miss the Atlanta Braves' next two games with a bruised left leg.
Lopez fouled a ball off the lower part of his shin in the eighth inning of the Braves' 2-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
With his leg heavily wrapped before Thursday's game, he was scratched from Atlanta's lineup.
``Today, it's not good,'' Lopez said. ``It's kind of swollen, but it should be OK by Saturday. It hurt like crazy, but I knew it wasn't broken.''
Lopez has matched his career high this season with 34 homers while hitting .321 with 84 RBIs. His big numbers have been a big factor in the Braves' powerful offense, which leads the majors in several categories.
Henry Blanco started for Atlanta in Lopez's place on Thursday night as the NL East leaders finished their series in San Francisco.
Lopez probably wouldn't have played on Friday night anyway, since Blanco usually catches scheduled starter Greg Maddux.
Lopez said he expects to return on Saturday, when the Braves play the second game of a three-game series in Colorado. Lopez hopes to set his new career best for homers in Denver's thin air.
``I can't skip Colorado,'' Lopez said with a grin. ``Whether I'm hurt or not, I'm going to play.''
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