2 weeks Ago
The Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 at PNC Park on Tuesday, but unfortunately the victory involved a scary moment. With the Nationals lead 1-0 in the top of the sixth, Paul DeJong stepped to the plate against Pirates starter Mitch Keller with nobody on and two outs. DeJong was 0-for-2 with a strikeout to that point and looking to make something happen.
Unfortunately for him, Keller lost his control during the at-bat. After nearly hitting DeJong with his second pitch of the at-bat, Keller's fourth pitch — a 93 mph fastball — crashed directly into DeJong's face , sending him sprawling to the ground. Trainers immediately rushed out to help DeJong, who was bleeding from a cut under his left eye and nose.
While he had to leave the game, he was able to walk off the field under his own power after being replaced by pinch-runner Amed Rosario. After the game, Washington manager Dave Martinez provided an injury update on the former All-Star. Martinez said DeJong is getting a CT scan and that the team is awaiting the results.
However, he sounded optimistic that the injury wasn't too serious. Based on initial reports, it sounds like DeJong's injuries are mostly superficial and don't appear too concerning, despite how they initially looked. If DeJong did avoid serious injury, he's incredibly fortunate.
Pitches to the head can be career-altering and even life-threatening, so he's lucky he escaped with relatively minor wounds. Depending on the results of the CT scan, DeJong may be able to return to the Nationals' lineup soon. He's currently batting .
204 with no home runs, two RBI and a .524 OPS in 16 games this season, so perhaps some time off will do him some good. Either way, Washington fans will want to monitor the 31-year-old infielder's status to make sure he's okay.
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