It’s the worst-case scenario for an MLB hitter.
Former Dodger and current member of the Red Sox, Justin Turner, was hit in the face by a fastball in a spring training game on Monday, knocking him to the ground and sending him to the hospital.
Thankfully, Turner was able to leave the field under his own power, after the 2-1 pitch from Tigers pitcher Matt Manning hit him in the left cheek. After Turner collapsed, he appeared to be bleeding from the face.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” color commentator Will Middlebrooks said on the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.
“You never, ever, ever want to see that — especially in a spring training game where a guy is just trying to get his work in and get ready for the season.”
Turner received 16 stitches but did not sustain a facial fracture according to his wife Kourtney. He was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday. According to the Red Sox, Turner is being monitored for a concussion.
Turner, 38, signed a two-year, $21.7 million deal this offseason after spending his last nine years with the Dodgers.