Diamondbacks catcher Chris Iannetta suffered an awful injury during Friday’s game against the Pirates. At the bottom of the seventh inning, Iannetta’s mouth made contact with a pitch, causing him to lose a tooth and bleed from his nose and lips. It looked horrific on TV:
OUCH ! Chris Iannetta exits after getting hit in the face by the pitch! pic.twitter.com/hGpfpyLXbv
— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) May 13, 2017
He exited the game after this moment, and in a postgame conference, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Iannetta had been taken to the hospital for more examinations. USA Today photographer Mark Rebilas actually captured the exact moment the ball hit Iannetta’s face:
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Initial evaluations revealed some serious damage to Iannetta.
Chris Iannetta received stitches in his upper lip & suffered a couple of fractured teeth and a nose fracture. He is still being evaluated.
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 13, 2017
Here’s hoping Iannetta gets better and back on the field soon.