Walker leaves game with oblique tightness

PHOENIX -- D-backs first baseman Christian Walker was forced to leave Monday night’s game against the Nationals after the bottom of the third inning with what the team says was left oblique tightness.

Walker was unavailable for comment after the game, but manager Torey Lovullo said that he believes Walker first felt the oblique during his at-bat in the second inning when he struck out. Walker then made a running catch in foul territory to catch a ball in the top of the third, whirled and threw to second and when he came off at the end of that half inning he told the training staff he was hurt.

Walker is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning to determine the extent of the injury.

The D-backs ended up winning the game in dramatic fashion, 9-8, on a pinch-hit, walk-off two-run home run by Corbin Carroll in the bottom of the ninth that capped a seven-run comeback in the final three frames.

Walker is as close to an irreplaceable player as the D-backs have. There is no true first baseman on the roster, with Kevin Newman, a shortstop, taking over for him when he left the game.

Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has played 25 games in his Major League career at first base, but he has come in as a replacement in just two games since joining the D-backs before last season.

Walker, meanwhile, has been a big contributor for the D-backs on both sides of the ball.

Last year, he won his second straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award and offensively he leads the D-backs with 71 RBIs and shares the team lead with 23 home runs.