Rockies' Story avoids serious injury, diagnosed with elbow inflammation

Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said Trevor Story is suffering from elbow inflammation and has avoided any ligament damage after the shortstop was forced to leave in the middle of an at-bat during Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Black said Story's MRI indicated that "the joint is fine, (the) ligament is intact, and there is no structural damage," according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. The 25-year-old is expected to return to the lineup in the next couple days.

Story seemed to tweak his elbow making a diving grab and throw on a groundball from Justin Turner in the first inning. He remained in the game until his fourth-inning at-bat when Pat Valaika took over at the plate and remained in the game at shortstop.

Over 149 games this season, Story has emerged as an MVP candidate, authoring a .288/.343/.550 slash line with 33 home runs and 26 stolen bases.

The Rockies currently sit a half-game back of the Dodgers for the division lead and have two games remaining in their series against Los Angeles. The Rockies will then head to Chase Field for a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are currently 4 1/2 games back of Colorado.