In the second inning of Sunday’s game against Seattle, L.A.’s Matt Shoemaker was struck in the head by a 105 miles per hour line-drive off the bat of Kyle Seager.
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Pitching in Sunday’s second inning against the Mariners, Shoemaker was struck in the right side of the head by a 105-mph line drive off the bat of Seattle’s Kyle Seager at Safeco Field.
Shoemaker was the second Major League Baseball pitcher in the past three months to be struck by a returning ball, after Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon was hit by a ball travelling at 169kmh but was able to play on. It appears Shoemaker is OK for now, but it’s still a terrifying position to be in.
Los Angeles athletic trainer Adam Nevala is staying with Shoemaker until he is able to travel to Southern California, perhaps as soon as in a few days.
After he left the field, Shoemaker was tended to by Angel’s trainers in the team clubhouse for just a short period prior to an ambulances taking him to a nearby hospital.
Shoemaker was bloodied but he never did lose consciousness, and he was able to walk off the field under his own power.
Jett Bandy the Angels catcher said his view of the play was very good and when you can see how it hits someone square on the side of the head, it becomes scary. The Mariners have dropped seven of eight with AL West-leading Texas coming in for a four-game series starting Monday, likely Seattle’s last opportunity to get back into the wild-card race. He was replaced by Deolis Guerra.
Pujols hit his 29th homer of the season off Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma (14-11).
But that was all the Angels allowed, and Andrew Bailey pitched the ninth for his first save. The Angels hit seven first-inning home runs in the three-game series.
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“Both of those pitches were up in the zone”, Iwakuma said through an interpreter.
