Bazzana takes searing liner from J-Ram off arm ... it left quite the mark

ANAHEIM -- While none of us needed any proof that José Ramírez hits the ball with authority, teammate Travis Bazzana received some painful confirmation in the Guardians’ 4-3 win over the Angels on Wednesday.

And Bazzana has the scars -- or, rather, the seams -- to prove it.

Bazzana was struck by a Ramírez line drive in the third inning on Wednesday that had a 105.6-mph exit velocity. It left the impression of a baseball on Bazzana’s right forearm, with visible seams emulating an unexpected tattoo.

Ramírez swings a big bat, confirmed.

“I don't know if I've ever been hit by a ball that hard,” Bazzana said.

Bazzana isn’t the first player to get struck by a ball in play while running the bases, but it counts as a rare occurrence for him. He recalled being hit by a ball while running “maybe one another time,” in his baseball journey, but not flush like on Wednesday.

Bazzana hit a single off Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez to bring Ramírez to the plate. The Guardians were trailing, 3-0, and Bazzana knew he had to run on contact given there were two outs. He took his secondary lead and appeared to make it two steps before Ramírez’s line drive struck his forearm.

Ramírez was credited with a single on the play, but Bazzana was immediately ruled out because he made contact with a ball in play. Of course, this is much different than a ground ball trickling off a baserunner’s ankle.

Getting hit by a Ramírez line drive is as painful as it sounds.

“Hit by pitches, it's one thing if you’re getting hit by 100 [mph],” Bazzana said. “Hosey hit that 106 [mph], so that was probably the hardest I've ever been hit by a baseball.”

That’s certainly true since he made his big league debut on April 28. Bazzana has been hit by a pitch four times in the Majors this season. Those pitches’ velocities were 94.1 mph (May 7 vs. the Royals); 94 mph (July 12 vs. the Marlins); 82.1 mph (July 21 vs. the Twins); and 81.2 mph (May 9 vs. the Twins).

That also marked the second-hardest-hit ball Ramírez has hit since he returned from left hamate surgery on July 22.

Bazzana is fortunate to be OK. If anything, he sounded upset that he couldn't get out of the way. But he has quite a story to tell as he nears the end of his rookie season.

“I was frustrated that the ball hit me,” Bazzana said. “I looked at my arm, and those seams were imprinted from immediate contact. But it feels fine.”