Nelson improving, stays 2nd night in hospital

MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers have not yet ruled out Jimmy Nelson making his next scheduled start, despite the right-hander remaining hospitalized Friday for a second straight night after being struck in the head by a line drive in a loss to the Cardinals.

Several club officials characterized the decision to keep Nelson under observation for another night as precautionary. After walking off the field under his own power Thursday, he remained alert while a member of the team's athletic training staff drove him to a local hospital for a battery of tests including a CT scan. The tests revealed only a bruise. Nelson was not diagnosed with a concussion, manager Craig Counsell said.

"He's great. He's Jimmy," said Counsell, who spoke with Nelson via telephone on Friday. "He's raring to go."

Nelson's next scheduled start is Tuesday against Jake Arrieta and the Cubs at Wrigley Field.  

"I think we need to wait about 48 hours [before making that decision]," Counsell said. "We need to give him a little more time."

Asked whether he worried the incident would affect Nelson, Counsell said, "He's going to pitch again this year. I really think he'll pitch again this year. I'm not worried about the mental part of it at all."

Nelson took to Twitter in the wee hours of Friday to thank well-wishers, and teammates who corresponded with him on Friday said he'd been flooded by get-well text messages. Besides telephone conversations with Counsell and general manager Doug Melvin, Nelson received a visit from several members of the Brewers' medical staff.

Tweet from @Jimmy_J_Nelson: Thank you everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. The baseball family showing much support tonight and it's appreciated.

Tweet from @Jimmy_J_Nelson: I'm feeling good and was very lucky it wasn't worse. Blessed and thankful.

The line drive that struck the right side of Nelson's head left Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham's bat at 108 mph, according to Statcast™. Had it impacted closer to Nelson's face, one club official said Friday, the result could have been catastrophic.

"We're fortunate here," Counsell said. "From what we saw, it's a good result. We're lucky and thankful that [a bruise is] all it is."