Hours after coming off the disabled list for a third time this season, Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez took a 110-mph line drive off his torso in the eighth inning of Tuesday night's 5-2 win against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
After notching the final out of the seventh, Martinez returned to the mound to protect a 5-2 lead as part of his new role as a reliever. He sandwiched a double play between walks before Joc Pederson lined a ball back up the middle. Martinez was unable to get his glove up in time and the ball struck him squarely. He immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
Matt Carpenter fielded the ricochet and turned it into an inning-ending out at second base, after which multiple members of the Cardinals' medical staff rushed to Martinez's side. The right-hander was eventually able to walk off the field without help.
X-rays came back negative.
"I couldn't breathe, and everything started to go black," said Martinez. "I took a couple of breaths, and after that, like a minute [later], it was better."