Pirates relief pitcher Hunter Stratton suffers a serious injury to his left knee in an unfortunate slide

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Hunter Stratton tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in the fourth inning of Saturday night's 10-2 loss to Cincinnati and will miss “a lot of time,” according to manager Derek Shelton.

Stratton was throwing to Tyler Stephenson with two on and one out when he fired a wild pitch. Pirates catcher Joey Bart tracked it down and threw it to Stratton, who missed. The ball rolled to the backstop and Stratton slipped trying to retrieve it. He fell awkwardly to the ground, clutching his left leg.

Stratton had just come in for the ineffective Jake Woodford and was up 2-0 before Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz scored on a wild pitch to extend Cincinnati's lead to 8-2.

Stratton was replaced by Jalen Beeks.

Stratton, 27, has been solid out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2-1 record and a 3.58 ERA in 35 appearances at the time of his injury.

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