Nationals reliever Ken Waldichuk leaves game vs. Brewers after hurting his arm on pitch

MILWAUKEE — Nationals left-hander Ken Waldichuk departed after hurting his arm while throwing a pitch in the seventh inning of Washington's 8-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

Waldichuk threw a ball to Brice Turang and reacted in discomfort. As training staffers went to the mound to check on him, Waldichuk pointed to his left arm.

Waldichuk had Tommy John surgery nearly two years ago.

“Yeah, there's definitely some concern,” manager Blake Butera said. “Any time somebody goes to their forearm and comes out of the game, it's usually pretty scary. Before I say anything (else), I want to have some time to take a look at him and figure out what it is.”

After he pointed to his arm, Waldichuk walked slowly to the dugout and Cole Henry came out of the bullpen to replace him with a 2-0 count. Turang eventually drew a walk that was charged to Waldichuk.

Waldichuk, 28, was charged with one earned run in 1 2/3 innings Sunday and has a 6.75 ERA in five appearances. He's 6-11 with a 5.35 ERA in 46 career appearances, including 29 starts.

He pitched for Oakland from 2022-23, missed the entire 2024 season and spent last year in the minors. Waldichuk made Washington's roster this year after allowing two runs — one earned — over 9 2/3 innings in spring training.

“He's a guy that's got a lot of upside,” teammate Zack Littell said. “We saw him in spring training have a dominant spring. You obviously want a guy like that healthy. Whoever it is, it's just never fun to see that happen.”