It was an extremely scary scene on Tuesday night in a game between the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. In just the second inning, Brian Goodwin smashed a line drive up the middle that connected with A's starter Chris Bassitt's head in a horrific turn of events. He was quickly carted off the field and taken to hospital in a conscious state.
Thankfully, he suffered limited damage. Here's the update from MLB Network's Jon Heyman:
News is encouraging on A’s ace Chris Bassitt. After being hit in the face with a liner last night he sustained a fractured cheekbone and maxilla (upper jawbone). Surgery will be in 3-5 days after swelling subsides. All other scans are clean. Most vitally: Vision is 20-20.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 18, 2021
The Athletics ace has perfect vision, which is a very encouraging sign. Some fractures to the cheek and jawbones are expected, but it's great to see he didn't suffer any life-threatening injuries.
Bassitt has been fantastic for Oakland this season, going 12-4 with a 3.22 ERA. He leads the Athletics in innings pitched and is also sixth in the big leagues in strikeouts, racking up 154 K's in 151 innings of work.
It's always concerning when a pitcher gets struck with a line drive, especially when it's coming back at 100 mph. The fact that he's in good spirits is the best news possible because it could've been a lot more serious.
The Athletics will likely be without their best arm for a while here, but they will just be thankful that he is okay. Following Tuesday's 9-0 loss, the A's are just 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West.
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