Corbin leaves final tune-up start with forearm stiffness

Published Mar. 15, 2014 8:13 p.m. ET

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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Patrick Corbin, scheduled to start for the Diamondbacks on Opening Day, left his final spring tuneup against the Indians on Saturday with "stiffness in his forearm," manager Kirk Gibson said, and was returned to Salt River Fields for an evaluation.

"It is not really in the elbow, and we certainly hope it has nothing to do with the elbow," Gibson said, tapping a spot on his left forearm about four inches below the elbow. "We'll try and determine that tonight. We'll look at it, and rest assured we'll be cautious with it."

Corbin's scheduled start against the Dodgers in Sydney, Australia, on March 22 could be in jeopardy. Caution may dictate that the D-backs leave Corbin home and use Wade Miley or Brandon McCarthy on opening day. And Trevor Cahill, scheduled to pitch the second game of the series March 23, could be pushed up. Rookie Archie Bradley, who is to start the D-backs' exhibition game against the Australian national team on March 21, also could be a candidate for a start.

"Let's wait and see what it is. We'll make a good decision, though," Gibson said.

In a worst-case scenario, forearm tightness can be a precursor to Tommy John surgery, but at first blush there was no indication that Corbin's injury was anywhere near that severe.

Corbin motioned for trainers to come to the mound after a making a 2-2 pitch to David Adams with one out and a runner on first base in the bottom of the seventh inning of the D-backs' 4-2 victory. He had thrown 91 pitches, having given up 10 hits and two unearned runs while striking out seven. He gave up a single to Justin Sellers and struck out Luke Carlin in the seventh before facing Adams.

Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, who worked almost all of Corbin's games when he went 14-8 with a 3.33 ERA last season, said that while Corbin's slider did not seem to have its usual bite, he did not see any signs of discomfort even after Corbin motioned for the trainers.

"Obviously it's some concern. He's a weapon, you know?" Montero said.

"He was throwing good. I thought it might be his ankle or his groin. The last thing I thought of was his arm," Montero said. "The velo (velocity) was there. Maybe the breaking ball ... two-strike counts, he couldn't really put them away with his breaking ball, which he usually does. He was just kind of floating out there and backing up a little bit. If he doesn't say anything, I'm thinking he's fine. I hope everything is all right."

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