New York Yankees right-hander Bryan Mitchell suffered only a small nasal fracture after he was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of ex-Yankee Eduardo Nunez on Monday night.
Mitchell remained under observation Tuesday for a possible concussion. He is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday’s game.
On an 0-2 pitch, Nunez hit a hard line drive and Mitchell had no time to react. The ball appeared to strike Mitchell on the right side of his face. He immediately fell to the ground and was bleeding as trainers attended to him.
Mitchell’s injury left players shocked and frightened.
“I was very scared,” Nunez told nj.com. “I don’t even know what I think. As soon as I saw him on the mound bleeding, I was so scared, you know. I was very sad for him.”
Nunez and Mitchell were teammates in 2013 for a brief time with the Trenton Thunder.
The bloody scene shook up left Yankees veteran catcher Brian McCann.
“We’re lucky he got his face out of there, and it got him, but it could have got him a lot worse,” he said. “You’re sick. Sick to your stomach. And you’re just praying for the best, hoping for the best outcome.”
First baseman Mark Teixeira was one of the first players to attend to Mitchell.
“He said, as soon as we all ran over there, he was OK. But, again, we just crossed our fingers that it wasn’t worse.”
Mitchell returned for the conclusion of the game — an 8-7 Yankees victory in 10 innings– but did not speak to reporters.