Alex Avila Injury: Updates on Tigers Catcher's Wrist

With his Detroit Tigers team down 3-0 and facing elimination from the World Series, catcher Alex Avila is dealing with a wrist injury that will keep him out of Game 4 against the San Francisco Giants.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal broke the news Sunday afternoon (h/t Drew Silva of NBC Sports), noting that lingering discomfort in Avila's right wrist forced manager Jim Leyland to scratch his catcher from the must-win game. 

According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Avila was hurt in Game 1 and has been playing through the pain. Schulman also reported that Gerald Laird will replace Avila in the lineup Sunday night.

"

Also. Avila scratched for Los Tigers with a right wriste injury. Was hurt catching in Game 1. Laird in there.

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) October 28, 2012"

Avila was injured in Game 1 when a foul tip struck his right wrist while he was behind the plate. 

The 25-year-old was the main starter all season, appearing in 116 regular-season games. He hit for a .243 batting average to go along with nine home runs and 48 RBI.

Laird, the 32-year-old backup, notched a batting average of .282 and hit two homers during the regular season. 

The Tigers haven't scored a single run in the last two games after scoring three runs total in Game 1. They'll need much more offensive firepower if they want any chance to get back in contention in this series.

Detroit hopes that Laird can bring some life to the bottom half of the lineup.