Royals place Yarbrough on injured list with 'head fractures'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was placed on the 15-day injured list with what was classified as “head fractures” after taking a 106-mph line drive off the right side of his face Sunday. Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Yarbrough has three non-displaced fractures in different spots around his right eye.

“He's stable, improving,” Quatraro said before Monday's game. “He never lost consciousness. He's very aware of what's going on around him. We don't think at this time will require surgery. He's getting further testing and we'll have a better idea (of his prognosis) in the next 24 hours.”

Quatraro was one of several Royals who stopped by the hospital after Sunday's game against the Athletics.

“If you weren't looking at him, the conversations were totally normal," Quatraro said, "you wouldn't know anything was going on.”

Athletics' first baseman Ryan Noda lined the ball back up the middle in the sixth inning Sunday. It caromed off Yarbrough's head and bounced back to catcher Salvador Perez, who easily threw out Noda at first base. Quatraro said that Noda reached out to Yarbrough via social media.

“Out on the mound at the time, what he said was, ‘I think I’m done. My head is ringing,'” Quatraro said. “That makes perfect sense.

"We're going to have a lot better idea in the next day or so. If you think about broken bones that don't require surgery, they heal within four to six weeks. But that's just for those bones. He has to have activity and those types of things.” ___

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