Diamondbacks LHP Ray placed on injured list

PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Diamondbacks put left-hander Robbie Ray on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of lower back spasms.

Ray was removed from Wednesday’s start at Colorado while warming up before the start of the third inning. He gave up one run and one hit, and the Diamondbacks went on to a 7-6 loss.

The 27-year-old Ray is 10-7 with a 3.99 ERA. He ranks among the NL leaders with 187 strikeouts in 142 innings.

Ray had an MRI that showed nothing irregular in his back. He missed about two months last season with an oblique injury.

“He’s had problems with his oblique in the past and those things go through your head,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s quite a relief. We had to make the right decision for him moving forward instead of fast-forwarding things.”

“We just need to be smart and mindful to get out ahead of it so he can remain healthy the rest of the year. The comforting factor for me is that he is going to be 100 percent the rest of the year,” he said.

With off days, Ray would miss only one start if he is able to return the first day eligible, on Aug. 25.

The Diamondbacks also promoted right-handers Stefan Crichton and Jon Duplantier from Triple-A Reno on Thursday. Outfielder Tim Locastro was optioned to their top farm club.

Duplantier has made three starts for Arizona this season.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports