Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer on Saturday afternoon.
UPDATE: Saturday, June 15, at 7:33 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford
According to CBS’ Eye on Baseball, Cobb sustained a mild concussion:
MLB also noted that all tests came back normal:
—End of update—
He would leave the game on a stretcher at Tropicana Field.
MLB had the tweet as the scary scene unfolded in the top half of the fifth inning:
Cobb, who was drafted out of high school by the Rays in the fourth round back in 2006, cracked the majors in 2011 and had made 44 starts for the franchise before his Saturday afternoon outing.
After delivering the pitch, Cobb had no time to react as the ball was scorched off Hosmer’s bat. The ball ricocheted off Cobb’s head and back to catcher Jose Lobaton, who fired to first to complete the out.
As you can see in MLB.com video of the incident, baseball is a dangerous game for pitchers these days. (Note: Replay has potentially upsetting images.)
Grantland’s Jonah Keri added this tweet as we send thoughts and prayers to the 25-year-old starting pitcher:
For the year, Cobb has a 6-2 record with an ERA of 3.01 following the results of his first four innings against the Royals. His WAR among starting pitchers (2.2) is 10th in the AL.
MLB later tweeted this statement concerning Cobb’s status:
In a disturbing trend in MLB, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a pitcher hit in the head with a line drive this season. Toronto Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ was also hit in the head in a May game against the Rays, and he suffered a skull fracture as a result (via ESPN).
We’d like to send out a note of encouragement to Cobb, his family, friends and the doctors in charge of his care as this story continues to develop.
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