The Arkansas Razorbacks won’t face Auburn ace Casey Mize tonight when they open a three-game series at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala., and may not see the sophomore righthander at all this weekend.
Mize (6-1, 1.23 ERA) is doubtful for the series because of arm soreness, Auburn Coach Butch Thompson told Auburn247sports.com, after he pitched six scoreless innings in the Tigers’ 3-2 victory at Tennessee last Thursday.
Junior right-hander Keegan Thompson (4-1, 1.29) will start for Auburn tonight with freshman right-hander Davis Daniel (3-2, 4.00) scheduled to start Saturday. Thompson has not named his Sunday starter.
Butch Thompson didn’t rule out Mize pitching against Arkansas, but told Auburn247sports.com he didn’t expect it. Mize hasn’t pitched in practice, Thompson said, since his start at Tennessee.
Thompson told wholehogsports.com that he’s likely to give pitchers rest when he feels they need it, even in the middle of the SEC title race.
“I think we’ll do that more than some other teams,” he said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint. Our job is to try to keep our team at full strength and win every weekend, but at the same time keep our team as healthy as we can.
“The starting rotation, those three guys are paramount to our team having success. We’re looking at them every week and trying to make decisions for them to stay strong for an entire season.”