No surgery for Phillies’ J.P. Crawford; Jerad Eickhoff is ‘cautiously optimistic’

J.P. Crawford said Wednesday that his fractured left hand will not require surgery, and he is hoping to return from the disabled list in four to six weeks.

Crawford suffered the injury on Tuesday night, when he was hit with a 94-mph fastball. He immediately knew something was wrong, when he saw his hand swell and his "knuckle looked completely different."

The injury came just two weeks after Crawford returned from the disabled list. He had an everyday role at third base and started to look comfortable at the plate, with a .425 on-base percentage in 13 games.

"It's not fun. … Plain and simple, it [stinks]. I want to be out there playing with my teammates and helping them win," Crawford said. "But you can't do anything about it. It's just part of the game. I'm going to try to get better as quick as I can and help my team out."

Crawford was replaced on the 25-man roster by Mitch Walding. Maikel Franco started Wednesday's win at third base and will see regular playing time in Crawford's absence.

Jerad Eickhoff said he felt good after throwing 20 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday, but the real test will come this weekend, when he tries to throw the pitches that caused his fingers to go numb a month ago.

The righthander had a cortisone shot two weeks ago to knock out inflammation in his wrist, which doctors believed had caused the discomfort. He threw only fastballs on Tuesday and will throw breaking balls in his bullpen session on Saturday in Washington.

"That's a big test. I am cautiously optimistic that I won't feel anything," said Eickhoff, who will need to throw a couple of bullpen sessions before starting a rehab assignment. "One step at a time. We checked one box yesterday. We'll check another one Saturday."

Austin Davis barely had a chance to get his feet wet, as he made his major-league debut on Wednesday by being thrown into the seventh inning of a tie game.

The 25-year-old lefthander, who was promoted Monday from triple A, said it was "really cool" that Kapler trusted him like that. He gave up a single to the first batter before striking out Kolten Wong with a cutter. Davis rolled the ball to the dugout for a keepsake, then was replaced by Edubray Ramos when the Cardinals sent a righthanded pinch-hitter to the plate.

"I would just say it was fun. I was excited to get out there and start the inning," Davis said. "After the first batter, I felt like, 'OK. Now we're here. We're pitching. It's baseball, again.' "

The Phillies will spend Thursday's off day at Citizens Bank Park for the 28th annual Phillies Phestival to beneift ALS. The event raised $656,500 last year. Tickets to the event, which includes autograph signings and charity auctions, are available at Phillies.com/philliesphestival or by calling 215-463-1000. … Cardinals starter Michael Wacha left Wednesday's game with an oblique strain. … Zach Eflin will start Friday's series opener in Washington. The Nationals have not announced a starter.