Archie Bradley avoids serious injury after baseball hits him in face
Last Updated: 29/04/15 4:15pm
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley was lucky to escape serious injury when he was hit in the face by a ball on Tuesday.
The rookie was knocked to the ground by a hard-hit ball from Colorado Rockies pitcher Carlos Gonzalez in the second innings of their National League West game at Chase Field.
Experts estimated that the ball left Gonzalez's bat travelling at 115mph.
The 22-year-old was immediately treated by team doctors on the mound and stayed down for several minutes before being helped to his feet and taken away from the field.
A scan at a Phoenix hospital showed nothing serious bar some slight sinus cavity damage, although Bradley posted a picture on Twitter of a nasty swelling on the side of his face.
He was back at the stadium before the end of the game and even managed to take time to answer questions from concerned reporters.
Bradley said: "I tried to throw a curveball in there for a strike and I saw the pitch going towards the plate, then I woke up and I was laying down. I got myself together and opened my eyes. I could see, wiggled my feet and the next thing I know the trainers are there.
"It's part of the game. Obviously you hate to see it. It hurt pretty bad. But I hate it because now I don't know the diagnosis, how bad it is or even if it's bad at all."
Bradley is almost certain to need a stint on the disabled list and Gonzalez admitted the incident had affected him as well during the rest of the game, which the Diamondbacks won 12-5.
"That is one thing you see once in a while on the diamond that you really wish you never see when you are playing," Gonzalez said.
"For me as a hitter, it's a nightmare. It's something you don't try to do. Seeing one of those guys going down, especially a guy like him, who is really young and starting his career."
