TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Miami Marlins starter Ryan Weathers pitched three innings after he was struck in the head by catcher Nick Fortes’ throw to second base following the final warmup pitch before the bottom of the first inning on Saturday.
Fortes’ throw hit Weathers on the top of his head and knocked his cap off. Weathers reached for his head as he fell to the mound. He was face down when athletic trainers rushed to tend to him.
“It’s definitely a first,” said Weathers, who added he felt “good” after the game. “Obviously, it’s just unfortunate, but I’m also fortunate it hit me in the top of the head and not the back of the head.”
Weathers, the son of longtime reliever David Weathers, needed only eight pitches to get out of the first inning. He was taken out after the third for what the Rays called “precautionary reasons.” He threw 57 pitches and gave up four runs, three earned, on three hits and a walk. The team said he would undergo further evaluation.
“I just felt very disconnected out there a little bit just with like, just all that adrenaline left me,” Weathers said. ”It’s kind of like that episode of ‘SpongeBob’ where everything’s on fire inside of his brain. I just felt like I was in pure chaos after that happened. So it was just kind of the right time to come out of the game there.”
Fortes was visibly shaken after the incident, but Weathers assured him he was OK.
“Yeah, I just told him, ‘I’m fine. I’m still going to go to battle with you,’” Weathers said. “Like, it’s not going to change that fact. … It was just one of those weird days. I’m just happy we came out with a win.”
The Marlins won 11-10 in 10 innings.
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