The Chicago Cubs (51-51) picked up a big 10-3 victory on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals Thursday to finally claw their way back to .500. Though, the good vibes were significantly dampened for left fielder Ian Happ, who was involved in a nerve-wracking moment with a former teammate in the first inning.

Happ connected with the head of Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras on his backswing, causing the three-time All-Star to bleed and exit the game. Right-handed starter Miles Mikolas hit the Chicago veteran with a pitch soon after and was subsequently ejected. Happ expressed his regret for the incident after the game.

“It just sucks. Just horrible,” Happ told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Obviously comes up bloody. We played together for six years, we're good friends, a lot of love for him. And so to see him go down and be bleeding from the head, it's obviously a scary moment. We texted a little bit after the game, and he's doing alright.”

That update is extremely encouraging to hear, given the nature of the injury. Willson Contreras started off slow with St. Louis but is in the midst of a torrid July that has him hitting .442 with three home runs and a 1.344 OPS. While he did not get to showcase his big bat Thursday, the Venezuelan native's resilience was on full display when he tried to avoid coming out of the game.

“That didn't surprise me at all,” Ian Happ said. “He was trying really hard to stay in the game and trying to fight the trainer as blood's coming coming out of his head. That's who he is. We saw that over here for a long time, and that's the kind of competitor he is.”

Happ and Contreras played on the Cubs together from 2017-22 and endured some tough times the last couple of seasons. Both were floated in trade rumors last year before the team decided to hold on to them. Contreras then departed in free agency. This is certainly not an experience they want to share, but their bond will hopefully allow them to move forward without any tension.