Mickey Storey Injury: Astros Pitcher Hit In The Face By Line Drive [Video]
On a play that was far too similar to the incident involving Oakland A’s pitcher Brandon McCarthy, Astros reliever Mickey Storey was hit in the face by a line drive in Wednesday night’s game against the Cubs.
The accident, which took place in the top of the eighth inning, happened as Storey failed to knock down the comebacker off the bat of Cubs’ center fielder Dave Sappelt.
Amazingly, Storey did not go down immediately after being struck by the liner but merely slumped over, holding his right hand to his head. He then dropped to a knee when trainers arrived at the mound.
The 26-year-old rookie right-hander never lost consciousness, and, after a few minutes, he was able to leave the field under his own power. NBC Sports reports that he escaped the incident with a contusion to his right hand jaw.
“We were lucky,” Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco said of Storey’s injury after the game. “What happened with McCarthy in Oakland, it’s very sensitive right now to the players and the coaching staffs. We don’t want to see anybody get hurt. I know it’s part of the game, but you feel bad for the kid.”
Storey, a former A’s prospect who threw his first game for the Astros in August, has a 3.00 ERA in 18 relief appearances this season. Since his debut, he entered Wednesday ranked second among National League relievers in strikeouts (25).
MLB.com has the video of Mickey Storey’s scary line to the face play below:
