NEW YORK — Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was placed on the injured list Saturday for the first time in his career because of a strained left oblique.

Rutschman, 27, had an MRI on Saturday morning, and the Orioles announced the move about 15 minutes before their game against the New York Yankees.

“He’s been super durable, especially for a catcher,” Baltimore interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Unfortunately, if he does, if this is a thing, he’s going to go, but hopefully it’s not too long.”

Rutschman had been in Baltimore’s original lineup Friday as the designated hitter before feeling pain during batting practice and being scratched. The Orioles recalled Maverick Handley, who will serve as the backup to Gary Sanchez until Rutschman returns.

Rutschman is hitting .227 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 68 games this season. He has been among the more durable catchers in the majors. After playing 113 games following his debut in May 2022, he appeared in 154 games in 2023 and 148 last season.

Baltimore’s lineup took another hit when infielder Jordan Westburg exited Saturday’s game against the Yankees in the third inning after jamming his left index finger while stealing a base, despite wearing a protective glove. He was seen wincing afterward.

Westburg, who started at designated hitter, walked in the first inning and stole second during an at-bat by Gunnar Henderson. He was replaced in the third by rookie Coby Mayo.

Following Baltimore’s 9-0 loss, the team said X-rays were negative.

“Jammed his finger stealing second base,” Mansolino said. “Sprained, strained, something along those lines. Hoping it’s day-to-day right now. Nothing imminent with him. We feel like probably in a few days he’ll be OK, maybe earlier.”

The 26-year-old Westburg missed more than a month with a left hamstring strain before returning on June 10. He is hitting .229 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in 34 games this season.

“All I know is that there’s no fracture on the X-ray, so trying to stay optimistic in that sense,” Westburg said.

Westburg was an All-Star last season, when he batted .264 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

MIAMI — The Atlanta Braves placed reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list Saturday because of a fractured left rib cage.

“He was doing his exercises [Friday] and felt like something wasn’t right,” manager Brian Snitker said before the Braves’ 7-0 win Saturday against the Miami Marlins. “So they had him looked at, and it showed what it showed.”

In his previous start, against the New York Mets on Wednesday, Sale sprinted off the mound and made a diving stop of a grounder hit by Juan Soto and threw him out for the first out in the ninth. He then struck out Pete Alonso and was lifted after allowing a single to Brandon Nimmo.

“It’s just a freak thing. An unfortunate thing,” Snitker said. “I saw him after the game that night and he was doing his postgame workout. And then I saw him the next day and I think he maybe felt a little uncomfortable the next day. But then [Friday] is when he wanted to get it checked out.”

Sale is 5-4 and has a 2.52 ERA through 15 starts this season. The 36-year-old left-hander threw a season-high 116 pitches in 8⅔ innings against the Mets.

“It’s a tough blow for us and him,” Snitker said. “It was going so good. That’s a rough one.”

After six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Sale was traded to the Braves in December 2023. Sale won the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Atlanta, finishing with an NL high in wins (18) and strikeouts (225) and a league-low ERA of 2.38.

Snitker doesn’t have a timeline for when his star pitcher will return.

“With bones like that, they’ve got to heal before you can start the process, but I have no idea how long it will be,” he said.

The Braves are 35-40 and 10.5 games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia. They’ve won seven of eight, including a three-game series sweep against the Mets earlier this week.

In the corresponding move retroactive to Thursday, the Braves recalled left-handed pitcher Austin Cox from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Boston Red Sox are pausing pitcher Kutter Crawford‘s rehab due to a wrist injury, according to manager Alex Cora.

Crawford, 29, hasn’t pitched in a game this season due to knee and wrist issues. He threw his second bullpen session of the week Friday in the hopes of progressing to a rehab assignment but suffered a setback with the wrist.

The right-hander is set to fly to Boston for further testing in the coming days.

“He wasn’t able to generate velocity,” Cora said Saturday morning. “That’s a concern.”

Crawford made a league-high 33 starts last season, compiling 183⅔ innings, but a lingering knee issue prevented him from starting the year healthy. That was followed by wrist pain, leading to him being shut down.

“We’ll know more next week,” Cora said.

Meanwhile, newly acquired pitcher Jordan Hicks (toe) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, and third baseman Alex Bregman (quad) is also progressing.

“[Saturday] was a big day for him,” Cora said.

Cora indicated Bregman tends to say he’s further along than might be true, so the team will confer with doctors while also listening to the player in terms of when he’s ready to return.

“We always compare him to Dustin [Pedroia],” Cora said with a smile. “If Dustin said 80%, I’d say it was 65%. “But he’s [Bregman] feeling better. He’s excited about everything going on here. Just eager to come back.”