Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images
A scary scene unfolded in Toronto Saturday as an errant sinker from Alek Manoah caught Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Taylor Ward in the face, knocking him out of the contest.
Sportsnet @Sportsnet
Scary moment as Taylor Ward takes an Alek Manoah pitch up high. pic.twitter.com/4BJZ77GCgA
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Wishing Taylor Ward all the best. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/TPAf8UTLY7
Angels PR @LAAngelsPR
#Angels Transactions:
•Selected the contract of INF Kevin Padlo
•Placed OF Taylor Ward on the 10-day injured list (facial fractures)
The sinker registered at 92 MPH and caused Ward to be carted off of the field and eventually led to a trip to the hospital, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.
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Taylor Ward was taken to the hospital to undergo further testing, Nevin said
The pitch ran up inadvertently, and Manoah expressed sympathy and positive thoughts to Ward after the game.
“I’m definitely going to pray for him and his family,” Manoah said. (via Sam Blum and Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic) “That’s the last thing you want to do, no matter the situation, no matter the team, no matter anything. (I) feel really bad about it. Definitely will be looking to see how he’s doing and hopefully he’s back on the field pretty quickly.”
The Angels have Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Logan O’Hoppe currently on the IL, while Zach Neto is also sidelined.
Ward is hitting .250 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI’s across 96 games for the Angels in 2023, but had been hot lately. He has slugged his way to an OPS above 1.000 in July and has helped the Angels insert themselves back into the playoff hunt.
The hit-by-pitch would result in the only Angels run of the night as they fell 6-1 to Toronto. The Angels are currently 54-51 and sit 6.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West and 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the final AL Wild Card spot.
