Watch: Padres' Austin Nola hit in the face by pitch in spring training tilt
Fans at Sunday afternoon's Cactus League matchup between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs witnessed a scary incident involving Friars' catcher Austin Nola.
In the top of the fourth inning, a pitch from Michael Fulmer nailed Nola directly in the face, sending him to the ground in obvious pain. Nola exited the field on a cart, covering his bloodied face with a towel.
After the game, manager Bob Melvin called Nola's injury "very concerning" but couldn't provide more information on the catcher's status.
"Last I heard, they were trying to stop the bleeding," Melvin said via 97.3 The Fan. "He was doing okay, but, like I said, I can't imagine it's not broken when it hit him square in the nose."
With Nola likely to miss some time, the Padres will need to lean on their catching depth -- Pedro Severino, Luis Campusano and Brett Sullivan -- to help fill the void.
Running through these options, Severino, an eight-year veteran, played in eight games for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. Campusano, in his fourth Major League season, played in 16 contests backing up Nola. Meanwhile, Sullivan, 28, is a career minor leaguer who recently participated in the World Baseball Classic for Italy.
It's a tough break for Nola, who was having one heck of a spring. Ahead of Sunday's game, Nola had gone 9-of-27 with a home run.
Before the Padres' matchup with the Cubs, Melvin sounded excited about Nola's progress at the plate, telling reporters, "He's swinging the bat really well."
"I think there's a little bit more there offensively, and we're seeing some of those swings this spring already," Melvin said.
The 32-year-old backstop played in 110 games for San Diego last season, slashing .251/.321/.329 with four home runs and 40 RBI.
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