Everyone calls out sick from work every once in a while, but when you’re a Major League Baseball player, it seems that sometimes you have to show up to work anyway.
That was the case for Washington Nationals relief pitcher Drew Storen Friday, when he was called in during the ninth inning of a day game to conserve the team’s bullpen for the nighttime doubleheader matchup. Storen’s father, Mark Patrick, took to Twitter to tell the world that his son shouldn’t have been called into the game because he was “sicker than a dog” with a 102-degree temperature.
It seems that Storen didn’t have just a run-of-the-mill cough or cold, though, according to the Washington Post, he had pitched with the flu. The reliever was struggling so badly that he received an IV during the game’s early innings.
Storen gave up three hits, including a three-run homer, in 2/3 of an inning pitched and was subsequently optioned to Class AAA Syracuse Friday night.
