It’s safe to assume Reed Garris gave Erik Bakich and the entire Clemson fan base a bit of a scare in the No. 9 Tigers’ 9-7 series-opening win over Duke on Friday.
Despite giving up two earned runs in Friday’s series-opening win over Duke, the most he’s allowed in any appearance all season, Garris has been one of Clemson’s most dependable relievers. The hard-throwing right-hander came into Friday sporting a minuscule ERA of 0.69 with 29 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.
So when Garris had to come out of Friday’s game while grimacing in pain, everyone in Doug Kingsmore Stadium momentarily held their collective breath.
“He tweaked his back,” Bakich said. “He’s had a sore back in the past. He was a catcher before he was a pitcher. So, something he’s always cognizant of and working on.”
Just after giving up a solo home run to start the seventh, Garris induced a ground ball to first base. He took off for the bag, then took the toss from Luke Gaffney to record the first out of the inning. That’s when the pain really set in.
“Right before that, he had the 3-1 cover. I don’t know if he hit the base funny or what,” Bakich added. “He’ll be fine. He just tweaked it. From the way he was explaining it out there, it sounded like a muscle spasm that was kind of grabbing on him.”
Fortunately for the ninth-ranked Tigers, it looked much worse than it was. Garris would take part in the postgame celebration on the field, as the win over the Blue Devils gave Clemson a victory in a series opener for the first time since the three-game set against Louisville in mid-April.
Seeing as Garris threw 22 pitches in an inning of work on Friday, it was unlikely he’d pitch in game two on Saturday even without tweaking his back. However, Bakich didn’t rule out a Sunday return. And with this series having serious postseason implications, the Tigers might benefit from having one of their top bullpen arms available before the end of the weekend.
“Hopefully, we will get him back quick,” Bakich said. “I don’t know if he will be back in there (Saturday), but I think he will be back in there fairly soon.”