Thornburg to DL with Elbow Soreness, Fiers Up

Apr 9, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Tyler Thornburg (30) delivers to the plate during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Brewers defeated the Phillies 9-4. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Thornburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right elbow after Saturday’s game in Pittsburgh and Mike Fiers has been recalled to replace him.

Thornburg had been having a fantastic season until his last outing on Friday when he allowed five runs in an inning in Milwaukee’s 15-5 loss to the Pirates.

Thornburg pitched 29.2 innings for the Brewers this season. 19 of his 27 appearances this season have been scoreless.

Initial tests did not reveal any red flags within Thornburg’s elbow, but the team is taking the careful approach.

Thornburg told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy of his elbow, “Obviously, there’s so many different things in there that it could be. We’re waiting to get it checked out to see if we can be a little more specific and go from there. We’ll narrow it down.”

Fiers is making his first return to Milwaukee in the 2014 season to fill Thornburg’s spot on the 25-man roster.  Fiers has been working as a starter in AAA this season.  In 11 starts, he’s thrown 67 2/3 innings, with a 2.53 ERA and 2.40 FIP.

Fiers is striking out 12.24 batters per nine innings for Nashville this season against just 1.20 walks per nine.