Lakeland, Fla. – Victor Martinez rounded first base and then quickly grabbed at the back of his left leg in the fifth inning of the Tigers’ 9-2 win over the Mets on Monday.
Manager Brad Ausmus nearly beat him back to the first base bag.
“I was concerned when it first happened because I thought it was his knee,” Ausmus said. “When he said it was his hamstring, I felt a little sense of relief right there.”
The initial diagnosis was a mild strain in his left hamstring. It was his twice surgically-repaired left knee that ruined Martinez’s season last year.