VIDEO: Masahiro Tanaka Gets Drilled by Line Drive That Narrowly Misses Head
By Michael Luciano
Masahiro Tanaka just saw his life flash before his eyes this afternoon in Baltimore thanks to Orioles infielder Rio Ruiz almost decapitating him. The Yankees starter came literally inches away from a scary-looking injury. Instead, Tanaka was somehow able to knock down the Ruiz liner.
This could've been way worse. pic.twitter.com/Htt0sj08zL
— Evan Daniel (@mrevandaniel) May 23, 2019
The throwing error, however, was not as cool, or Matrix-like, as the original stop.
He didn't come off totally unscathed, as taking a 102 MPH liner right to the chest stings a little bit. Luckily for the Yankees, Tanaka remained in the game.
Masahiro Tanaka was just hit by a comebacker, again. I think it got him in the chest? He is staying in the game, despite that thing being 102 mph off the bat.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) May 23, 2019
Tanaka also took a 111 MPH ground ball off of his shin during his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays. Does he just have a bullseye on him that we're all missing?
With Luis Severino, James Paxton, and CC Sabathia already on the IL, they couldn't afford to have Tanaka go on the shelf for any stretch of time. The Yankees would rather Tanaka get another nasty bruise from hard liner, however, than a shot to the head.