(Reuters) -Oakland pitcher Chris Bassitt was “conscious the entire time” after being struck on the head in the second inning of their game against the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday, team manager Bob Melvin said.
Video footage showed Brian Goodwin’s line drive hitting Bassitt near his right eye while he was still in his follow through motion. He immediately fell to the ground as his team mates called for medical attention.
He eventually left the field on a stretcher.
Media reports said there was lots of blood on the pitcher’s mound and on a towel that had been held to Bassitt’s head.
The ball was reportedly travelling 160 km per hour when it hit Bassitt.
Melvin said ‘Bass’ had undergone a scan and they would know more about the extent of the injury later.
“Bass is conscious, he was the entire time,” Melvin said after the game, which they lost 9-0.
“We don’t think the eye is a problem at this point. It felt like it was below it.
“He’s got some cuts and used some stitches. He’s in a scan and we’ll know about potential fractures tomorrow or later tonight.”
The 32-year-old right hander has a 12-3 record and a 3.06 earned run average in 24 starts this season.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
