 --%3E %3Csvg version='1.1' id='Layer_1' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' xmlns:xlink='http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink' x='0px' y='0px' viewBox='0 0 200 70' style='enable-background:new 0 0 200 70;' xml:space='preserve'%3E %3Cstyle type='text/css'%3E .st0%7Bfill:%23FFFFFF;%7D .st1%7Bfill:%23FF9900;%7D %3C/style%3E %3Cg%3E %3Cpath class='st0' d='M179.9,11.5c3.5,0,6.6,0.4,9.3,1.2c2.7,0.8,4.9,2,6.6,3.6s2.9,3.6,3.6,6c0.7,2.4,0.8,5.2,0.3,8.4 c-0.5,3.2-1.4,6-2.9,8.5c-1.4,2.4-3.2,4.4-5.5,6c-2.2,1.6-4.8,2.8-7.7,3.6c-2.9,0.8-6.1,1.2-9.6,1.2h-10.5l-2.7,17.6 c-0.1,0.6-0.4,1.1-0.9,1.6c-0.5,0.4-1.1,0.7-1.7,0.7h-10.8c-0.6,0-1.1-0.2-1.5-0.7c-0.4-0.4-0.5-1-0.4-1.6l8.2-53.9 c0.1-0.6,0.4-1.1,0.9-1.6c0.5-0.4,1.1-0.7,1.7-0.7H179.9z M165.5,37.1h10.1c2.3,0,4.3-0.5,5.9-1.5c1.7-1,2.7-2.7,3-5 c0.3-2.3-0.2-4-1.5-5c-1.4-1-3.2-1.5-5.5-1.5h-10.1L165.5,37.1z'/%3E %3Cpath class='st0' d='M148.8,12.4c-0.4-0.4-0.9-0.4-1.5-0.4h-10.8c-0.6,0-1.2-0.1-1.7,0.4c-0.5,0.4-0.8,0.8-0.9,1.4l-4.9,32.4 c-0.5,3.3-1.7,5.8-3.6,7.7c-1.9,1.9-4.5,2.8-7.8,2.8s-5.6-0.9-6.9-2.8c-1.3-1.9-1.8-4.4-1.3-7.7l4.9-32.4c0.1-0.6,0-0.9-0.4-1.3 c-0.4-0.4-0.9-0.4-1.5-0.4h-8.7c1.2,4,1.6,8.7,0.8,13.5C103.2,35.8,95.7,44,85.8,50h13.4c1.8,0,3,1.1,2.7,2.9l-2.6,16.7 c0,0.1-0.1,0.4-0.1,0.4H115v-0.3c0,0,0.4,0,0.5,0c3.7,0,7.3-0.5,10.5-1.5c3.2-1,6.2-2.5,8.7-4.5c2.5-2,4.6-4.4,6.3-7.3 c1.6-2.9,2.8-6.2,3.3-10l4.9-32.6C149.3,13.2,149.1,12.8,148.8,12.4z'/%3E %3Cpath class='st1' d='M0.3,24.2C0,23.6-0.1,23,0.1,22.3c0.2-0.7,0.7-1.3,1.3-1.7l23-15.8c0.6-0.4,1.3-0.8,2.1-1.3 c0.8-0.5,1.7-0.8,2.7-0.8h11.7c0.7,0,1.3,0.3,1.7,0.8C43,3.9,43.2,4.5,43,5.2l-9.3,61.9c-0.1,0.7-0.5,1.3-1,1.8 c-0.6,0.5-1.2,0.8-1.9,0.8H18.2c-0.7,0-1.3-0.3-1.7-0.8c-0.4-0.5-0.6-1.1-0.5-1.8l6.3-41.9L9.6,33.9c-0.6,0.4-1.3,0.6-2,0.5 c-0.7-0.1-1.2-0.4-1.6-1L0.3,24.2z'/%3E %3Cpath class='st1' d='M100.5,23.1c-0.3,1.9-0.8,3.7-1.4,5.5s-1.6,3.5-2.8,5.2c-1.2,1.7-2.7,3.3-4.5,5c-1.8,1.6-3.9,3.3-6.4,4.9 L70.1,54.1h24.7c0.7,0,1.3,0.3,1.7,0.8c0.4,0.5,0.6,1.1,0.5,1.9l-1.6,10.4c-0.1,0.7-0.5,1.3-1.1,1.9c-0.6,0.5-1.3,0.8-2,0.8H40.5 c-0.7,0-1.3-0.3-1.7-0.8c-0.4-0.5-0.6-1.1-0.5-1.9l1.3-8.5c0.2-1,0.5-2.1,1.1-3.1c0.6-1,1.5-1.9,2.6-2.7l32.6-21 c2.5-1.7,4.2-3.3,5-4.7c0.8-1.4,1.3-2.8,1.5-4.1c0.1-0.5,0.1-1.1,0-1.9c0-0.8-0.3-1.6-0.8-2.5c-0.5-0.8-1.2-1.5-2.2-2.1 c-1-0.6-2.4-0.9-4.2-0.9c-1.8,0-3.4,0.3-4.6,0.9c-1.2,0.6-2.2,1.3-3,2.1c-0.7,0.8-1.3,1.6-1.7,2.4c-0.4,0.8-0.7,1.4-0.9,1.8 c-0.5,0.9-1.1,1.5-1.8,1.8c-0.7,0.3-1.6,0.4-2.5,0.4H48.6c-0.6,0-1.1-0.2-1.4-0.6c-0.4-0.4-0.5-0.9-0.4-1.5c0.5-2.7,1.5-5.5,3-8.2 c1.5-2.7,3.6-5.2,6.2-7.4s5.7-4,9.3-5.4C68.7,0.7,72.8,0,77.4,0c4.3,0,8,0.6,11.2,1.9c3.1,1.3,5.6,3,7.5,5.1c1.9,2.1,3.2,4.6,4,7.4 C100.8,17.2,100.9,20.1,100.5,23.1z'/%3E %3C/g%3E %3C/svg%3E)
The first-place Atlanta Braves sit at 89-68 as the MLB regular season winds down. They have a talented roster that includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Ender Inciarte, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, and they look like they'll be a tough draw in the postseason.
However, the team suffered a tough blow during Tuesday's night 7-3 victory over the New York Mets. Swanson, the Braves' shortstop, left the game in the second game after experiencing soreness in his left hand. He had an MRI earlier today and unfortunately, the news was not good.
Swanson has a partially torn ligament in his left hand. He'll undergo treatment in Atlanta over the remainder of this week and then be re-evaluated next week.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 26, 2018
The MRI revealed that Swanson did, in fact, partially tear a ligament on the top of his left hand. The former first-round pick in 2015 had slashed .238/.304/.395 with 25 doubles, 14 homers, and 59 RBIs across 136 games this season. He's been the Braves' best defensive player and could be a Gold Glove finalist.
You’re not just Twitter-stupid, but actually real-life stupid, if you think Dansby Swanson potentially being out for the season is a good thing... it’s a huge blow to the defense and clutch hitting on the field, and even more, to the leadership & positive vibe of this clubhouse.
— dank aaron (@dank_aaron) September 26, 2018
Charlie Culberson will replace Swanson at shortstop, a position that he considers to be his natural one. Culberson is no stranger to filling in for someone at shortstop, as he filled in for Corey Seager last year during the Dodgers' postseason run.