BALTIMORE (AP) — In back-to-back innings, two San Diego players were hit in the head by the ball, turning a fairly routine victory over Baltimore into a potentially costly win.
And that was before a star Oriole was hit by a pitch, resulting in a pair of ejections in the ninth inning.
Xander Bogaerts of the Padres was hit on the helmet by a pitch in the top of the fifth Saturday and exited the game an inning later. He was pulled around the same time a warmup pitch bounced up and hit catcher Freddy Fermin, ending his participation as well. Neither player was needed in the late innings as the Padres finished off a 9-3 victory.
“Xander, we took him out of the game as a precaution,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “He was feeling good on the field, he was feeling all right. And then he just started not feeling as good — a little spasm back here in the neck.”
Bogaerts was struck on the left side of the head by a 93.5-mph pitch by Orioles starter Trey Gibson. The ball hit his helmet, which went flying off his head, and Bogaerts stayed on the ground for a bit.
After having the area around his left ear examined, he went to first, and Baltimore pulled Gibson from the game. Bogaerts eventually came around to score, giving San Diego a 6-2 lead, then took his spot at shortstop in the bottom of the inning.
The following inning, between the top and bottom of the sixth, he was replaced in the field.
During that same warmup period, Fermin was hit by the ball and was taken out as well.
“I didn't see it, but from what I heard, a ball bounced, hit him, and he turned his head, and it hit him in the back,” Stammen said. “He's had a few head shots here over the course of the season so far. Just another one. He was a little woozy out there. That'll probably be a little bit more significant than Bogaerts.”
With two out and nobody on in the ninth and the Padres up by six, reliever Ron Marinaccio hit Orioles star Gunnar Henderson with the first pitch. Marinaccio was ejected, and Stammen was tossed too after coming out to argue.
“They definitely thought he did it on purpose. That was not my understanding or my take from it. Ultimately that’s why I went out and argued," Stammen said. “Just didn’t think it was warranted. It would have been fine if they just warned everybody, and we’d have been fine, and move on from there.”
Marinaccio pointed out there had been no warnings issued before his ejection.
“I guess shocked a little bit,” he said. "I could understand the visual, a couple guys pitching inside earlier, but there’s no warnings.”
When Henderson came up in the seventh, Bradgley Rodriguez threw a couple of pitches up and in to him, and he eventually walked.
“They had their two opportunities in my previous at-bat and missed, so thought that should have been the end of it,” Henderson said. “But I guess they were trying to get payback, so I guess we’re even now."
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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