In a terrifying moment that left Fenway Park in silence, Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck took a line drive to the face in the top of the fifth inning on Friday night.
Houck delivered a 1-2 pitch to New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka, who connected with the ball and sent it right back in Houck’s direction. After being struck, the 26-year-old fell to his knees. As cameras zoomed in, blood could be seen dripping just below his right eye.
Houck remained conscious and alert and was able to answer all the questions being asked by trainers. After exiting the game, he was immediately taken to an area hospital where he received several stitches.
“He was conscious the whole time, so that’s good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game, via ESPN. “He’s got a cut, he’s in the hospital right now getting further tests. Obviously, we’ll know more at the end of the night. But he got lucky.”
“Just a scary moment,” teammate Justin Turner said. “To see him go down like that, not sure where it got him. But to see him get up and walk off the field, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him in the clubhouse but a couple of other guys did. He was in pretty good spirits before he went to the hospital to get some scans. I’ll check in on him. Hopefully, it’s just a few stitches and he’ll be back out there.”
Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock also told members of the media that Houck was cracking jokes before being taken to the hospital.
Houck allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and one walk before leaving Boston’s eventual 15-5 victory over the Yankees.
More must-reads: