It was a case of good news, bad news for Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder Taylor Ward.
Ward suffered multiple facial fractures after being beaned in the head by a pitch from Toronto Blue Jays’ starter Alek Manoah during the fifth inning Saturday afternoon.
Ward remained down and was tended to by the Angels’ training staff and other players before he was eventually carted off.
The bad news is he’ll be out for an undetermined amount of time and has been placed on the injured list with multiple facial fractures.
The good news? Angels’ manager Phil Nevin said the tests revealed no eye damage.
“It’s the best possible news we could get after what happened,” Nevin said Sunday.
Nevin added that the 29-year-old Ward was in “good spirits” upon visiting the outfielder at the hospital Saturday evening, as well as at the hotel after his release that same night.
Manoah appeared immediately regretful after the wayward pitch.
“That’s probably the worst feeling ever,” said Manoah, whose night ended at 4 1/3 innings pitched following the play in Toronto’s 6-1 win.
“Definitely want to pray for him and his family. That’s the last thing you want to do, no matter the situation, no matter the team, no matter anything. I feel really bad about it. I’ll definitely be looking to see how he’s doing.”
Nevin harbored no resentment toward the Blue Jays’ starter.
“Alek feels terrible; you saw his reaction on the mound,” Nevin said. “Certainly, there was never a moment where we’re thinking he’s trying to hit him at all. That’s not what happened. You feel for someone like that on both ends. It’s tough to go through. It’s a complete accident. We know that there’s no ill will, but he reached out. He wanted to talk to Taylor.”
Nevin said Ward was contacted by other players around the league, some of whom underwent similar injuries, which helped raise Ward’s spirits.
“I think that gave Taylor some peace of mind that he will be back and be as good as he was,” Nevin said.
The Angels aren’t sure when Ward will be back or if he’ll even return this season.
Ward remained at the Angels’ hotel Sunday and was replaced on the roster by Kevin Padlo.
Ward, in his sixth season with the Angels, is hitting .253 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs, while appearing in all but eight games entering Saturday.
The Angels entered Sunday five games back of Toronto for the third wild card spot before defeating the Blue Jays, 3-2, in extra innings to avoid a sweep.
