Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Iannetta was drilled in the face by a 93-mph fastball from Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johnny Barbatos on Friday night at Chase Field.
Iannetta fell to the ground and was down for a couple minutes, but was able to walk off the field and exit the game. He had a towel over a bloody nose and his mouth as he walked off.
Here’s video of the very scary scene:
Just a terrifying thing for a hitter. A 93-mph fastball running up and in and virtually no time to react. This is why we see some hitters going with the protective guard on their helmet these days (like Jason Heyward and Giancarlo Stanton).
It’s certainly good news that Iannetta seemed alert the whole time and was able to walk off the field, and hopefully he didn’t suffer any serious injuries.
UPDATE: Chris Iannetta was taken to a hospital in Phoenix as precaution. He reportedly has a split lip, but no more details on injuries:
#Dbacks Chris Iannetta has been taken to hospital. Split his lip. Was up and walking around. Being examined as precaution.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) May 13, 2017
UPDATE #2: Iannetta suffered a fractured nose, a couple fractured teeth, and got stitches on his upper lip.
Chris Iannetta received stitches in his upper lip & suffered a couple of fractured teeth and a nose fracture. He is still being evaluated.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 13, 2017
[MLB]
