Marlins’ Daniel Castano leaves game after taking line drive off head

There was a scary moment in the Miami Marlins-Cincinnati Reds game Thursday, with Marlins’ starting pitcher Daniel Castano leaving the game after taking a line drive to the head off the bat of Donovan Solano. Amazingly enough, the ball popped up in the air, and third baseman Joey Wendle was able to grab it for the out:

Marlins pitcher Daniel Castano took a line drive to the head that was caught at third base for the out

He was alert and able to walk off the field on his own power pic.twitter.com/n911w3QfHH

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 28, 2022

This was a scary moment, with Statcast tracking the ball at 104 miles per hour off Solano’s bat. Here’s another angle of it:

Frightening situation. Marlins starter Daniel Castano out of the game after this comebacker. pic.twitter.com/7uj1y6en7G

— Fish On First Spaces (@MarlinsSpaces) July 28, 2022

Fortunately, Castano was able to walk off the field himself.

.@Marlins starter Daniel Castano leaves the game under his own power after getting hit in the head. pic.twitter.com/14Xowtt6VE

— Bally Sports Florida & Bally Sports Sun (@BallySportsFL) July 28, 2022

Jeff Brigham came in to replace Castano. There’s no word yet on how seriously Castano was hurt.

The ball going off Castano’s head and being caught by Wendle led to one of the larger discrepancies you’ll see between what you might assume from how a play is recorded on MLB.com’s Gameday, and how it looks watching it live:

Yes, Castano did get the ball to Wendle, but via his head rather than his hands. (And “lines out” involving two fielders is unusual enough.)

Castano, 27, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft following a college career at Baylor. He was sent to Miami along with three other players in the Marcell Ozuna trade in December 2017. His major-league appearances have all been with the Marlins over the past three seasons. He’s 1-3 this season with a 3.86 ERA.

[Larry Brown Sports; screengrab from a video from @fishstripes on Twitter]