By Matt Snyder Brewers starting pitcher Shaun Marcum left after only one inning of work Friday night in Boston. He did throw 44 pitches and labored just to get through the frame, but that's still an early exit. Several hours later, we now know why. Marcum left with a left hip flexor strain (Tom Haudricourt via Twitter). Marcum will be evaluated Saturday, so until then we don't really know much about the injury.
If Marcum's forced to miss any amount of time for the Brewers, it's a huge loss. The 29-year-old right-hander entered Friday 7-2 with a 2.68 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 83 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings. Assuming he is healthy, he's probably on his way to a first All-Star Game appearance and has been the Brewers' top pitcher so far this season -- though Yovani Gallardo and Zack Greinke would be the two in the mix for the "ace" title.
The Brewers lost 10-4 to the Red Sox, but still hold a one-game lead in the NL Central, as the Cardinals lost their seventh consecutive game Friday night.
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