It was a scary scene during the Angels-Mariners game in Seattle on Sunday when Matt Shoemaker was struck in the head with a line drive, but the Los Angeles starter is recovering after emergency surgery.
In the second inning of the Angels’ 4-2 win, Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager hit a ball that hit Shoemaker on the right side of his head at 105 mph.
The accident left Shoemaker with a small skull fracture and a hematoma, and CT scans showed increased bleeding that ended up requiring surgery.
“The CT scan confirmed or when they actually did the operation that confirmed where the bleeding was,” Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Monday, per the team’s website. “They were able to access that area. They were able to seal it, stop the bleeding. He was wheeled back up into recovery and is recovering fine.”
As you could assume, the injury is season-ending, but his teammates are just glad he’s OK.
“Everybody’s been texting him. I don’t think anyone wants to call him right now,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Monday. “We’ve exhaled a little bit since. They monitored him and decided they needed to do surgery. They went in there and hopefully corrected what was causing the bleeding. He’s resting comfortably, and everything looks like it’s taken care of. Now it’s just the recuperation process for Matty. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
Thumbnail photo via Jennifer Buchanan/USA TODAY Sports Images