John Axford's First Appearance Since 2018 Ends in Gut-Wrenching Injury

Prior to Monday night, Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher John Axford hadn't pitched in the MLB since September of 2018. It's been a long road back for Axford, but everything appeared off to a great start for his redemption story.

Entering the 2021 campaign, Axford began his year working as a studio analyst on the Toronto Blue Jays' broadcast team. He then pitched in Olympic qualifying games for Team Canada before signing a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays.

And, the redemption story seemed set up for perfect success when the Brewers acquired the 38-year-old veteran this past weekend. Axford suited up on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates and it was a dream come true when he was called from the bullpen in the 9th inning.

Milwaukee Brewers News

The 11-year MLB veteran pitched to five batters on 23 pitches before he was removed. Following the contest, Brewers manager Craig Counsell provided a gut-wrenching injury update to his newest veteran arm. According to Counsell, the Brewers will have Axford undergo an MRI after suffering an elbow injury in his outing.

No additional details have been released yet, but this is a tragic ending to Axford's story. Through 11 years, Axford owns a 3.90 career ERA with 144 saves and 286 games finished.

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Adam Taylor McKillop is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Adam Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username atmckillop. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.