Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Corey Hart, who missed eight games with ruptured plantar fascia in the arch of his left foot, is in Thursday's lineup for the team's final game of its series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The two-time All-Star's absence hasn't seemed to hurt the Brewers' offense much, as the team is 7-1 since he injured his foot rounding second base against St. Louis.
Hart's status has been very much in question given the nature of the injury, even forcing manager Ron Roenicke to question whether the slugger would be available the rest of the season. Plantar fascia injuries can be nagging and very painful.
Hart was eager to get back in the lineup last week but had a setback Sunday when he tried to run the bases. The injury makes it very difficult to run in anything other than a straight line.
But it seems Thursday — and possibly going forward — Hart will try to play through the pain. That could be very good news for the Brewers, as Hart is batting .278 with 27 home runs and 77 RBI in 137 games and was one of the driving forces behind the team's late-season turnaround.
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