Padres starter Peavy pitched with broken rib

NEW YORK (Reuters) – San Diego Padres right-hander Jake
Peavy played with a broken rib in the 8-5 defeat by St. Louis
Cardinals on Tuesday, the team said.

Peavy pitched poorly in the opening loss to the Cardinals
in the National League playoff series.

“It’s a big blow to lose a pitcher of his stature at this
point of the season, no question,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy
said. “It shows what kind of gamer he was that he went out
there to throw in that kind of pain.”

Peavy, the Padres’ top pitcher, was rocked for eight runs
and eight hits, including a grand-slam home run, in 4 1/3
innings of the loss to the Cardinals.

He did not tell officials of the severity of the problem
until he left the game, saying “my ribs are killing me.”

A hospital examination revealed the fracture after X-rays
were negative.

Peavy, who said the injury could take four to six weeks to
heal, sustained the injury a week ago during a team celebration
after San Diego clinched the NL West title.

“We were jumping around on the field,” Peavy said. “The
next day I thought I had some bruised ribs, that I caught an
elbow or something. But I never would’ve imagined it would have
been this.”

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is in St. Louis on
Thursday.