This weekend's pitching schedule for ASU baseball's series against Cal has been thrown a curve with injuries on both sides.
Cal ace Daulton Jefferies will not be in the rotation this weekend first reported by D1baseball.com editor Aaron Fitt.
Daulton Jefferies will remain sidelined this weekend for Cal. I’m told it’s “been day to day” with his calf injury.
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) April 14, 2016
Jefferies, who is 6-0 on the season with a 1.29 ERA and only six earned runs allowed, was expected to be the biggest threat to ASU coming into the series beginning on Friday.
"When you look at his numbers, if he's not pitching this weekend, I think that's good for the home team," ASU head coach Tracy Smith said. "Let's be real here, that guy's really, really good. Would I rather be facing him or somebody else? I'll take somebody else."
Smith said he never wants to see anybody from the Pac-12 out from an injury, but that the "beauty of the conference" is producing players that will play at the next level.
"I was hoping at some point that he was coming back, but I'd be lying to you if I told you I wanted his debut to be Friday," Smith said.
ASU was also effected by the bug. With an already thin bullpen, injuries will make the choice of who to take the mound a little tougher for the coaches and staff.
Smith said Thursday that sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Hingst will be out for the weekend with a forearm strain, and that junior right-hander Hever Bueno remains day-to-day for the Sun Devils as well.
Sophomore Grant Schneider and freshmen Fitz Stadler and Chris Isbell are three pitchers that Smith said he could see being the young guys to step up in the rotation coming up.
Smith said he is hoping to get Schneider back into things in this weekend's matchup against Cal.
With the constraints in the bullpen, Smith said ASU will need a solid performance from junior right-handed pitcher Seth Martinez on Friday, as well as to perform at the plate to get it done against Cal.
"It's going to start on the mound, and we have to make the plays behind them because these guys are going to move the baseball," Smith said. "They're a veteran team, I think runs are going to be hard to come by, by both teams."
Related links:
ASU baseball to take on talented Cal pitching Friday night
ASU baseball takes season's first Territorial Cup opener behind early runs, Aboites
Reach the reporter at haley.stesiak@asu.edu or follow @haley_stesiak on Twitter.
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