SATURDAY’S GAME
Pirates at Reds, 1:10 p.m., FS Ohio, 700, 1410
Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan once used pickle juice to treat blisters on his fingers. Injured Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jon Moscot might try the same homemade remedy throughout the next offseason because he can’t figure out why he keeps getting blisters in his first start.
“Usually it’s my middle finger,” Moscot said Friday. “Now it’s on my thumb.”
Moscot threw 63 pitches in 3 2/3 innings Thursday in a rehab assignment for Class-A Daytona (Fla.), allowing no runs on five hits with one walk and one strikeout before being removed because of a blister on his pitching hand. He didn’t have any pain in his strained left intercostal muscle and remains on track to return to the rotation April 17.
“They took me out as a precaution before (the blister) tore,” Moscot said, “but everything was good. The side (pain) was non-existent. It felt really good.”
While Moscot nears a return, another injured pitcher faces a more uncertain future. Anthony DeSclafani will not start the series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday at Great American Ball Park, as the Reds hoped.
DeSclafani, on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle, threw a three-inning simulated game Wednesday and didn’t have any setbacks, but manager Bryan Price said Friday he is not 100 percent.
“After everything he’s gone through, if he really does something to that oblique, it could be an extended period of time missed,” Price said. “We’re so close to feeling like he’s 100 percent. We’re not going to take the chance.”
Price said he would announce a Sunday starter after Friday’s game against the Pirates. The return of Moscot will help his depth later this month, especially if DeSclafani remains sidelined.
Moscot will make one more rehab start April 12 for Triple-A Louisville with the goal of throwing 80 to 85 pitches.
“I can’t wait to be back and be a part of this,” Moscot said, “and get back on the mound in a real stadium and have a good time.”
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