The Milwaukee Brewers were trying to avoid getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals last night, but instead starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson was forced to leave the game in the third inning after the right-hander was struck in the lead by a line drive.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham came up to bat with a runner on third base as the Cardinals led the Brewers 2-0. On a 1-1 count, Pham made solid contact with an 89 mph slider and the line drive off of his bat hit Nelson in the side of the head.
A run scored and Pham reached second base after the ball ricocheted into foul territory on the third base side as Nelson remained on the ground. The Brewers' medical staff ran out to the mound to assist Nelson, who quickly rose to his knees, got on his feet and walked to the dugout on his own.
"The good news was that Nelson escaped serious injury. Hospital tests revealed nothing more than a bruise, though he was kept overnight for observation," Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote.
"The speed of the ball off the bat of St. Louis outfielder Tommy Pham was measured at 108 mph before it struck Nelson squarely on the right side of his head before he could react."
Check out the video of the incident below:
It's been a bad year for the Brewers and the latest injury to Nelson, who has been one of the better pitchers in the starting rotation despite being only 11-13 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 30 starts, will further deplete their rotation. Milwaukee is one of the worst teams in the MLB and sit 30 games behind the Cardinals in the NL Central.
Due to the number of pitchers who have been struck in the head/face by line drives this season (Yankees' Bryan Mitchell, Diamondbacks' Archie Bradley, Indians' Carlos Carrasco) as well as the higher than usual number of fans injured by foul balls and broken/errant bats, Commissioner Rob Manfred will likely have yet another serious issue on his plate this offseason.
