MILWAUKEE — Right fielder Ryan Braun wasn’t in the Brewers’ lineup Tuesday, a day after straining his right side in Milwaukee’s season-opening 10-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
Braun underwent an MRI exam Tuesday morning, and the results, he said, were good. However, he didn’t elaborate on what exactly that meant or what specific muscle the medical staff was looking at.
“When it’s in the ribcage, sometimes it’s oblique, intercostal, ribcage — they’re all interconnected,” Braun said. “If I had to guess, I would say it’s more intercostal, which is the muscles in between the ribcage, than it is oblique.
“It’s something between sore and tight, but it’s not something that’s a significant injury.”
Braun did say, though, he was feeling much better than he did Monday. He took part in all pregame activities Tuesday, including batting practice.
“Hopefully it’s something that’s only a day or two instead of what the alternative could have been. It’s something I’m happy about,” Braun said. “It’s good, I’ll get treatment all day today and just continue to do what they tell me to do and hopefully I get back in there as soon as possible.”
With Milwaukee’s offense floundering out of the gate this season, the Brewers can’t afford to lose Braun for a significant amount of time. He spent time on the disabled list last season and also battled a nagging thumb injury that sapped his power and made him a non-factor offensively as the Brewers tumbled out of contention in September.
“You never want to see that (on) Opening Day, but this isn’t too bad,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “He should be back in there tomorrow.”