Carlos Gomez is ok after being hit in the head. (Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports)
NEW YORK — The Milwaukee Brewers already know what life is like when All-Star center fielder Carlos Gomez isn’t in the lineup. They had to ponder the possibility again for a few frightening minutes Sunday.
Gomez dodged a serious injury even though New York Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard hit him in the left earflap with a 96 mph fastball in the sixth inning of the Mets’ 5-1 win at Citi Field.
The crowd of 32,422, which was buzzing as the hotly hyped Syndergaard dominated the Brewers through five shutout innings in his home debut, fell silent as Gomez remained on the ground. Gomez never lost consciousness and soon rolled over on to his back and then into a sitting position.
After having his vision tested and his temples massaged by trainer Dan Wright, Gomez tried to talk manager Craig Counsell into allowing him to remain in the game. Counsell, however, told Gomez, who sustained two concussions when he was hit by pitches in the minor leagues, that his day was done. Gomez walked off the field under his own power and headed into the dugout.
“(Counsell) asked me how I (felt), and I was doing fine,” Gomez said afterward. “I (want to) go to first and I want to take another at-bat. And he told me no. He told me, ‘I remember you got hit a couple times. I don’t want to take a chance. It’s about your health.'”
Gomez had a large bruise on his face, right where the helmet absorbed the baseball, but said he didn’t have a concussion and that he hopes to play Monday when the Brewers open a three-game series against the Tigers in Detroit.
Counsell was a bit more cautious but just as relieved as Gomez.
“Scary,” Counsell said. “We were fortunate.”
Gomez, who started in left field for the National League in last year’s All-Star Game and finished in the top 20 in the NL Most Valuable Player voting each of the past two seasons, played in just 20 of the Brewers’ first 38 games this season due to a right hamstring injury that sent him to the disabled list from April 16 through May 1.
Milwaukee is 9-11 when Gomez starts but 4-14 when he doesn’t. Fortunately for the Brewers, it doesn’t appear as if they will have to adjust again to playing without Gomez.
“Everything’s good,” Gomez said. “I got lucky.”
