CINCINNATI -- Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman had to leave Sunday’s 9-1 victory against the Reds at Great American Ball Park after getting hit in the left cheek bone by a foul ball from teammate Michael Busch.
With two outs in the fourth inning, Busch was at the plate when he half-swung at a pitch thrown by Reds right-hander Luis Mey. Busch fouled off the pitch and the ball hit Bregman while he was in the on-deck circle. Bregman immediately went into the dugout, and he was replaced by pinch-hitter Matt Shaw.
“You never want to see that on the ball field. You can’t control any of that. It happened so fast,” Busch said. “Any time [the ball] hits the head area, it’s scary. … You focus on the game, but it’s tough.”
Bregman was sent to the hospital for X-rays and a CT scan, but there wasn't any initial word after the game regarding what kind of damage was done.
“I don’t know anything more than that,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He had a cut under his eye. He was bleeding from his nose a little bit. It’s pretty swollen. It was below the eye. I honestly thought it hit him in the nose. I thought he had a broken nose, but I knew it hit him somewhere in the face. It’s just an unfortunate accident. I’m hoping and praying he is all right.
“We have to get good results from the hospital first. [Bregman] got hit in the face, so you are worried about his general well-being first. If we get a good report, we’ll move to the next step. I want to get a good report.”
Shaw drew a walk, then remained in the game to play second base, with Pedro Ramírez shifting to third base.