Tuesday night was a tough night to be an all-star. Hours after St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was injured in a violent collision at home plate in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was forced from their game against the Colorado Rockies after banging into the center field fence chasing a Josh Rutledge flyball in the first inning.
Kemp was unable to make a play on the ball, resulting in a triple for the Colorado Rockies shortstop. He was also unable to protect or brace himself, resulting in a solid face first collision with the poorly constructed, partially padded wall.
As you can see above, the wall is only padded about six feet up and then there's an indention and some fencing. Kemp hit the padded portion hard with the lower part of his body, while his jaw contacted the edge of the indention:
Ouch.
Kemp would remain down on the field for several minutes as trainers and teammates huddled around him. Amazingly, he would eventually collect himself and even managed to convince them he was could stay in the game, which he did. However, just one batter later, Jordan Pacheco blooped a ball to center field that forced Kemp to make a diving attempt. He was again slow to his feet, so manager Don Mattingly pulled his superstar off the field for further evaluation.
According to the Dodgers, Kemp was officially diagnosed with a right knee contusion. He'll also undergo x-rays on his jaw, but to this point has had no concussion-like symptoms. So it appears that he has escaped a significant injury and should only be sidelined a handful of games.
Looking for more baseball chatter?
Follow @bigleaguestew, @Townie813 and check out the BLS Facebook Page
No comments:
Post a Comment