Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk left Sunday's game against the Cleveland Indians in the fourth inning after suffering a facial injury on a freak play in the outfield.
When Grichuk slid feet first while attempting to catch Brandon Guyer's foul pop-up, a security guard's stool inadvertently struck him in the face. The guard was trying to move out of the way, and the stool's metal leg appeared to hit Grichuk close to his eye.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
After being attended to for several minutes Grichuk left the field under his own power, though team trainers accompanied him and held a towel to the injury.
Oh wow, Randal. Hope he’s okay.
— Calum Shanlin (@calumshanlin) September 9, 2018
(Someone tell him he’ll still be as handsome with a broken nose.)#BlueJays pic.twitter.com/2E5IIzqGVi
Teoscar Hernandez replaced Grichuk in the lineup and took over defensively in left field, while Billy McKinney slid over to right.
Early returns on tests have been positive with no concussion symptoms detected.
UPDATE (2/2): CT scan of his head was negative. CT scan of his face revealed no fractures. He has been diagnosed with multiple facial contusions and abrasions. He is day-to-day pending re-evaluation tomorrow.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 10, 2018
"He was swollen around the eye socket ... but he was smiling and grinning in the clubhouse," manager John Gibbons said following Toronto's 6-2 win, according to Sportsnet's Hazel Mae. "He's a pretty boy, you don't want anything to happen to that face."
Grichuk entered play on Sunday hitting .248/.304/.490 this season with 21 homers, 26 doubles, and 51 RBIs in 107 games.
