Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda breaks pitching hand with angry punch

The Dodgers activated reliever Brusdar Graterol from the injured list Tuesday night, a day earlier than expected. His early return was welcomed, but not the reason for it.

Shortly before first pitch of Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers announced that key left-handed reliever Anthony Banda was on the IL because of a fractured left hand.

The cause of the injury?

“It was a moment of weakness and frustration,” manager Dave Roberts said, “where he decided to take on a solid object that ultimately won the battle.”

Apparently, Banda hit something out of anger after giving up two runs Monday night.

“Emotions kind of played into it, with the outing that he had last night,” Roberts said. “It’s something that I know he regrets, we all regret. And he’ll learn from it.”

Roberts was hopeful that Banda, a midseason minor-league acquisition who carved out an important role in the bullpen, would return before the end of the season, noting the pitcher had only a hairline fracture of his throwing hand.

“It’s going to be a few days without throwing,” Roberts said. “And then hopefully we can build him back.”

Banda, who has a 3.23 earned-run average in 46 outings, was not in the clubhouse after the game.

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Graterol was expected to be activated Wednesday after missing the last month because of a hamstring strain he suffered in his season debut on Aug. 6 — one that was delayed because of a shoulder injury he sustained in spring training.

The hard-throwing right-hander, who initially was feared to be out for the rest of the season after having to be helped off the field, returned to action with a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday, working around two hits while touching 99 mph with his fastball.

“Looking at the quality of contact he was giving up, he’s not sharp, nor should he be,” Roberts said of Graterol, a top set-up man for the Dodgers in years past. “But that’s part of it. We’ve got time to sharpen things up with Brusdar.”