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Phillies place Tommy Hunter on injured list with forearm strain

The Phillies’ four highest-paid relief pitchers are now on the injured list.

Tommy Hunter said his most recent injury feels like the one that kept him sidelined for the first three months of the season.
Tommy Hunter said his most recent injury feels like the one that kept him sidelined for the first three months of the season.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

The Phillies’ four highest-paid relief pitchers are now on the injured list after the team lost Tommy Hunter on Sunday morning to a right forearm strain that could end his season.

Hunter’s injury occurred less than three weeks after the right-hander was activated from the injured list after suffering another forearm strain. He said he is optimistic that he could pitch again this season, but also said the injury feels similar to the one that cost him the first three months of the campaign. Hunter later learned that the injury is in a different spot and will have additional tests on Monday.

“I really don’t know, but I definitely know that there’s something wrong," Hunter said. “You spend two and a half months trying to get back and you feel really good, you’re in a good spot, and you’re throwing the ball really well. It just [stinks]. There’s no other way to say it. It’s disappointing.”

The Phillies used Ranger Suarez on Sunday for two key outs to keep the score tied in the seventh. Hunter’s injury will cause the team to lean more on the left-hander.

“Those were some big outs that he got for us. You could have seen the game unraveling at that point right in the middle of the lineup,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He came in and got two huge outs for us. It’s two very, very tough hitters. We’re going to need to use Ranger and some other guys in some higher-leverage situations going forward given Tommy being down. We’re going to lean on those guys heavily. We’re going to give them a shot to step up. We had some guys step up.”

Hunter is in the final year of a two-year, $18 million contract. He joins Pat Neshek (strained left hamstring), David Robertson (right elbow soreness), and Juan Nicasio (left groin strain) on the injured list. The four right-handers are earning a combined $36 million this season. Only Robertson is under contract for 2020.

“It stinks now for me, personally. It stinks,” Hunter said. “I was hoping to come back and provide some stability in the back end. Now, I’m not going to be able to do that right now. It’s a resilient group. I think there’s a lot of great baseball players. I think there’s a lot of good baseball ahead of this team. So, just going through a little funk. As soon as we snap out of it, nobody will remember this. Probably. It just stinks the way that it happened last night. It stinks. Baseball’s a crazy game. There’s a lot of ups and downs. This is just one of the down parts.”

Extra bases

Maikel Franco’s walk-off homer was the 100th home run of his career. ... J.T. Realmuto has a 10-game hitting streak. ... Bryce Harper (60 walks) and Rhys Hoskins (71) are the first teammates this season to reach 60 walks. ... Zach Eflin will face Clayton Kershaw in Monday’s series opener against the Dodgers.