Players, coaches and medical staff react to Archie Bradley scare

Apr 29, 2015, 6:31 AM | Updated: 6:50 am

PHOENIX — The silence spoke volumes.

Twenty-five minutes into the game, mere moments after the Arizona Diamondbacks had taken a 3-0 lead, none of the 18,792 fans in attendance at Chase Field were saying a word.

Starting pitcher Archie Bradley lay motionless on his stomach in front of the mound.

The D-backs training staff, plus manager Chip Hale and pitching coach Mike Harkey, rushed to his side.

Bradley had been struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

“It’s your worst nightmare as a manager, as a coach, a father, parent,” Hale said. “It’s really scary. It’s a very dangerous game.”

After several minutes, Bradley was rolled over onto his back. He then sat up and walked off the field under his own power, holding a towel to his face and giving a thumbs-up to the crowd.

“Tried to throw a curveball in there for a strike,” said Bradley, who was able to speak postgame. “I saw the pitch going towards the plate and then I kind of woke up and I was laying down and I was like, ‘holy crap, what just happened.’ So I got myself together, opened my eyes. I could see, wiggle my feet and then the next thing I knew the trainers were there.”

According to trainer Ken Crenshaw, Bradley, who never lost consciousness and was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital for further testing and suffered “some small changes in the sinus cavity.”

Bradley will follow-up with the team’s ear, nose and throat specialist Wednesday, but “our maxillofacial specialist, Dr. (Jeffrey) Edelstein, (thought) it was really favorable from what he saw on the CT scan,” Crenshaw said.

“That’s really good to know,” Gonzalez said when told the news in the Rockies clubhouse after the game, a 12-5 D-backs win. “It just ruined my night. It just ruined everybody’s night. It’s sad, but at the same time there’s nothing you can do about it. You’re just trying to hit the ball. It really sucks when you see a guy go down like that.”

According to MLB.com Gameday, the ball came off of Gonzalez’s bat at 115 mph, tied for the seventh-highest batted ball velocity this season via baseballsavant.com.

“It’s definitely scary,” Paul Goldschmidt said. “I’ve never been a part of anything like that as a teammate or seeing someone get hit in the face or head. It was scary.”

Added Mark Trumbo, “It’s a gut punch, man. It’s hard to even describe. You wouldn’t wish that on anyone in the world. It’s as unfortunate as it’s going to get in this game. It’s kind of a risk that we know we take when we come out here.”

Though no final decision has been made, Hale said Bradley will likely be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

As he spoke to reporters, Bradley held an ice pack up to a very swollen right cheek and was sporting a black eye.

“It’s not pretty to look in the mirror right now, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “You know it’s part of the game. Obviously, you hate to see it. It hurt pretty bad, but I just hate it because I don’t know the diagnosis. I don’t know how bad it is or if it’s even bad at all. I’m just glad this team won and now my concern is to get healthy and get back out there.”

Bradley and his teammates also reacted on Twitter.

Glad @ArchieBradley7 is ok The Good Lord was looking over him and we're thankful he's going good #GetWellSoon Also Great win today @Dbacks!

— Chase Anderson (@ChaseAnderson87) April 29, 2015

@Jstylep @ArchieBradley7 good teammate alert…

— Jake Lamb (@JakeLamb18) April 29, 2015

@GotBoz44 is this boz worthy? Baseball off the face at 115mph pic.twitter.com/Jrjf0XkQET

— Archie Bradley (@ArchieBradley7) April 29, 2015

Pretty ugly huh? In all Seriousness tho thanks for the text, tweets and prayers! Could have been a lot worse! #lucky pic.twitter.com/NasQBYWqkz

— Archie Bradley (@ArchieBradley7) April 29, 2015