MILWAUKEE -- Carlos Gomez and the Milwaukee Brewers appear to have survived a major scare.
Gomez left Sunday's 7-4 loss to Atlanta with a left shoulder sprain after making a leaping catch at the center field wall in the fourth inning, but an X-ray taken at Miller Park showed everything is in place with no structural damage.
He admitted felt his shoulder pop out and then pop back in after he hit the wall, which could leave some of the muscles tender for the next couple of days.
"Hopefully it's not going to be too bad," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "It could be a couple of days, it could be a week. I don't really know. We'll know more tomorrow when they take a look at him. At least the X-rays (showed) it's not anything bad."
On the play, Gomez robbed Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons of an extra base hit with the catch, but his left shoulder hit the wall hard on his way down. Gomez immediately grabbed his shoulder and began walking off the field before Brewers athletic trainer Dan Wright and Roenicke could get out on the field.
Gomez broke his left collarbone making a diving catch in a game in Arizona on July 20, 2011 and was out until Sept. 2. This time around, Gomez doesn't feel any pain in his collarbone. Shoulder soreness landed him on the disabled list with the Brewers in 2010, but Gomez is confident this isn't as bad and deemed an MRI unnecessary.
"Right now it is a little sore," Gomez said. "We'll wait until tomorrow to see how I feel, but right now I don't think (it is anything serious). I've had a shoulder sprain before. I've been on the DL before for a shoulder sprain, and I'm not feeling even 50 percent of that right now. I feel better. I can move my shoulder everywhere and it's really strong. I don't think it will take a lot of time before I'll be back."
The Brewers will have dodged a major bullet if Gomez is able to return in a couple of days. Milwaukee has Monday off before starting a stretch of 20 games in 20 days, and the Brewers can ill-afford to lose one of their most productive players at this time.
"When I jumped, I expected the wall was closer to me," Gomez said. "I stayed for a long time in the air and said 'Oh, my God, this is going to hurt.' I thought I was going to hurt my head or my neck, but I got lucky I hit my shoulder."
In the midst of a career year, Gomez is hitting .313 with 12 home runs, 37 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Leading baseball in WAR at 4.8, Gomez has a chance to make his first All-Star Game.
With left fielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Corey Hart already on the disabled list, the Brewers can't afford to lose Gomez for a significant period of time. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez is not 100 percent and trying to play through left knee pain, leaving Milwaukee without the majority of its run producers.
When the play happened, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy thought it was going to be serious and assumed the worst.
"I thought he broke his collarbone again, I really did," Lucroy said. "They showed the replay on it and it scared me. Man, it looked terrible. I'm glad to hear that it's just a sprain, and he's going to be OK. He's a big stick and an important part of our team and our lineup. We need him in there.
"He deserves to be on the All-Star team. Hopefully the injury is not going to keep him from that."
Gomez was hit by a pitch on the knee in the first inning Sunday, leaving him even more banged up after the game.
"I think my knee hurts more than my shoulder right now," Gomez said. "It's a little bruise right on the bone. It's part of the game."
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