MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Detroit Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones was taken to a hospital Saturday after getting hit in the face by a pitch - and he is headed to the disabled list.
Jones left in the third inning against Minnesota when he was drilled in the left side of his mouth by a 90 mph fastball from Twins reliever Justin Haley. Jones went down but then sprang to his feet, tossed his helmet away and ran up the third base line in the direction of the Tigers’ dugout.
He was met by manager Brad Ausmus and a trainer, who put a towel to Jones’ bleeding mouth. The 24-year-old rookie was escorted back to the bench and removed from the game.
After the Tigers’ 5-4 victory, Ausmus said Jones had a “nasty split lip” and was undergoing a CT scan at the hospital.
“They think his teeth are all intact,” Ausmus said.
The team announced Saturday night that Jones would go on the DL before Sunday’s game against the Twins.
“It’s no fun to get hit. It’s a whole other story, you get hit in the face,” Tigers catcher James McCann said. “No protection. That’s not a lot of fun and you don’t like to see that happen to your teammates.”
Detroit starter Matthew Boyd was ejected two innings later when he threw behind Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who pointed his finger at Boyd and yelled out toward the mound. McCann intervened and appeared to put his mitt in the face of Sano, who reacted immediately with a punch to McCann’s mask and chest protector, touching off a bench-clearing scuffle.
There was plenty of pushing and shoving near home plate as both benches and bullpens emptied, but there did not appear to be any other punches thrown. Sano and Boyd were both ejected.
After the game, the Twins put Haley on the 10-day disabled list with right biceps tendinitis.
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