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Yankees' Tanaka released from hospital after taking liner to head

Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty

New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka was released from a hospital Saturday night after taking a line drive off his head earlier in the day during camp, the team announced.

Manager Aaron Boone said Tanaka will go into the concussion protocol after his CT scan came back negative, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

A scary scene played out at Yankee Stadium as Tanaka remained motionless on the ground for several minutes after a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton hit him.

The pitcher was helped off the field and into the dugout following the play.

After the incident, Yankees hitting coach Marcus Thames put a screen in front of the mound before players resumed hitting with Jordan Montgomery pitching, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.

"It's definitely horrible," Montgomery said when asked about Tanaka's injury, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "I'm just thinking and praying for him right now. I hope that he's OK."

Tanaka posted a 4.45 ERA across 182 innings for New York in 2019. The two-time All-Star was expected to slot in behind Gerrit Cole and James Paxton in the Yankees' rotation to start the 2020 campaign.

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