D-backs' Archie Bradley struck by line drive but avoids serious injury
PHOENIX -- Archie Bradley has only a vague recollection of the line drive that knocked him down, then out of the Diamondbacks game Tuesday.
Maybe that's a good thing.
It may have been the most frightening moment at Chase Field, comparable only to the time when Houston left-hander Billy Wagner was struck in the head by a Kelly Stinnett liner in July, 1998.
"Tried to throw a curve ball in there for a strike, and saw the pitch going toward the plate," Bradley said. "Then I kind of woke up and I was laying down. And I was like 'Oh, crap, what just happened.'"
Fortunately, maybe not that much.
Certainly not as much as could have.
Despite everything, the 115 mph liner by Carlos Gonzalez that hit Bradley in the right side of the face, the moments he lay face down on the mound, the ambulance ride to Phoenix St. Joseph's Hospital for further testing, the FaceTime session with his mom Pam in Oklahoma to let her know everything was OK, Bradley was back in the clubhouse when the game ended, slapping hands with his teammates after their 12-5 victory over Colorado.
Bradley gave the crowd a couple of thumbs-up signs as he was led off, and maybe he's right.
Although doctors will check again for fractures when the swelling subsides, Bradley showed no signs of concussion or neurological damage, D-backs trainer Ken Crenshaw said.
The only apparent issues were small changes in the sinus cavity, Crenshaw said.
"The jaw looks great, his orbital looks great, vision's fine and all of those things looked really well. So it looks favorable. They just want a favorable read (Wednesday)," Crenshaw said.
Bradley even spent three minutes with the media after the game, joking "it's not pretty to look in the mirror, I can tell you that."
