Jimmy Nelson taken to hospital after being hit in the head on the mound
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson was taken to the hospital Thursday after he was hit in the head by a line drive on the mound.
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The incident took place in the third inning. With a man on third, Tommy Pham stepped to the plate against Nelson. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Pham hit a line shot back at the pitcher’s mound.
Nelson didn’t have enough time to react, and was hit on the right side of his head. Pham reacted immediately, visibly wincing once he realized what happened. He would make it second base on the play, but quickly buried his head into his hands as Nelson laid on the ground.
A team trainer and manager Craig Counsell arrived at the mound shortly after the play was over. Nelson laid on the ground for quite some time, but was eventually able to sit up on his knees. Trainers continued to examine Nelson as he knelt on the field. After a couple more minutes, Nelson was able to walk off the field under his own power. He received a loud ovation from the crowd as he left the game.
Though Nelson seemed to be OK as he walked off the field, the team sent him to a local hospital in order to receive a CT scan. The team said Nelson was “lucid” on the way to the hospital.
Nearly two hours later, the team had the results from the scan.
That’s definitely good news. Nelson escaped the incident with just a bruise. He will stay at the hospital overnight so doctors can observe him closely.
While it’s still a potentially scary situation, Nelson appears to have come out of this with good news. You never want to see a pitcher get hit in the head with a line shot, but this is at least the best possible result from that scenario.
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It’s currently unknown how long Nelson will be out following the play, but that seems trivial at the moment. A potentially devastating situation seems to have been avoided Thursday. Here’s hoping for a quick recovery for Nelson.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
