Lugo gets mound visit from ex-teammate Nimmo, walks off after liner hits head

KANSAS CITY – Seth Lugo was hit in the head by a 106.6 mph line drive in the fourth inning Wednesday night, exiting right away but walking off on his own, which seemed to indicate he was feeling as OK as he could have been after a comebacker like that.

The Royals sent him to get a CT scan during the game, the results of which they were still awaiting after their 6-4 loss in 10 innings to the Rangers at Kauffman Stadium. They provided an update mid-game, saying that “Seth Lugo is doing well and will go through the appropriate protocol and testing.”

“Very scary,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Especially the way he went down, to me, it looked like he just went flat on his back. But once we got out there, and he was with it and seemed fine … felt a lot better about it, the way he was talking at that point.”

The liner was hit by Brandon Nimmo, who ran to first base but then immediately called time to run to the mound and check on his former Mets teammate; the two played together from 2016-22. By that point, Lugo had gotten up on his own and was getting checked on by head athletic trainer Kyle Turner. A large lump had already formed on Lugo’s forehead.

“When he stood up, it scared me a little bit because you could tell he was trying to catch his balance,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “But he was also standing on the mound. He fell straight on his arm, which sucked. But he was in good spirits, which was good. Big knot on his head.”

As he walked off, Lugo seemed to tell Nimmo again that he was OK. He appeared to joke with Nimmo to hit the ball into right field or pull it rather than hit it right back at him on the mound.

“Seeing him walk off on his own, kind of give a little smile to Nimmo when he was walking off made it a little bit easier, knowing that he was probably going to be OK,” second baseman Nick Loftin said.

“My concern, first and foremost, was for him,” Nimmo said. “When I saw the ball go back, I heard it and saw it glance off him; just all the concern was for him, and just being OK.”

Lugo was cruising until that point, needing 44 pitches (29 strikes) in 3 1/3 innings, and his exit was the start of a painful and frustrating game gone astray for the Royals. They had to use seven of their eight relievers, several of whom they wanted to stay away from due to high usage recently.

“That’s what happens when something goes awry like that early,” Quatraro said. “But they competed like crazy. Came up on the short end, but it was certainly competitive, and they were trying to make pitches throughout, back and forth.”

Royals pitchers walked nine batters, and the eight relievers combined to throw 162 pitches across 6 2/3 innings. Mason Black was first out of the ‘pen when Lugo went down, and the Rangers immediately scored two runs to take the lead. Black got out of it without further damage thanks to right fielder Jac Caglianone’s 97 mph throw to nab Ezequiel Duran at home, but Black was only able to make it through another inning.

“Would have liked to give the boys a little bit extra couple innings there,” Black said. “It was just one of those days when it’s a grind. I didn’t come out and set the tone very well attacking, so I think that’s something that might linger.”

The bullpen never let the game get away from the Royals, though, and the offense kept tacking runs on to keep it a tight game. The Royals took the lead in the seventh on Loftin’s triple, only for Matt Strahm to allow a game-tying homer in the eighth. That’s where it stayed until the 10th, when Alex Lange – whom the Royals didn’t want to use Wednesday because he had made four high-leverage appearances in the past seven days and threw another 32 pitches Wednesday – allowed two runs (one earned).

The Royals had the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, but Tyler Tolbert, who had pinch-run for Lane Thomas in the eighth but was caught trying to steal second, grounded into a double play with Bobby Witt Jr. on deck.

Kansas City recorded 13 hits Wednesday but left 13 on base, going 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

“That was the idea, that Tolbert’s a really tough guy to double up, and you like your chances of getting Bobby to the plate,” Quatraro said.