Three MLB players have now been injured by foul balls in frightening incidents over the past four days. On Sunday, Alex Bregman was hospitalized after a foul ball struck him in the face. Two days later, Ronald Acuña Jr. went down in pain as a foul tip ricocheted into his leg. Now, the Athletics have been hit with a similar scare. Brian Serven had to leave Wednesday’s game after a 94-mph changeup glanced off his bat before hitting him in the face.
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“Prayers up for Brian Serven after he was hit in the face while trying to put a bunt down. Fortunately, he was able to walk off the field without any help,” Baseball is Dead captioned the short clip uploaded on X.
The A’s entered the bottom of the sixth leading 5-3 against the Los Angeles Angels. Reliever José Fermín allowed a single to Alika Williams, and Serven entered the batter’s box. He tried to bunt the very first pitch, but it didn’t go as planned. The foul ball ricocheted off his bat and struck him in the face, sending him immediately to the ground. He was on his belly and holding his face. Manager Mark Kotsay and the athletic trainer rushed to the ground to check on him.
They started talking to Serven to understand how critical it was while the entire dugout was looking at them with utmost concern. Fortunately, he was able to answer, and after a while, he was up on his feet. “He’s alright, thank goodness,” the broadcast booth said.
The replay showed that the ball hit the upper side of his bat. It then struck the earguard of his helmet before hitting him near the eye. That earguard probably absorbed a significant part of the impact. The 31-year-old catcher, however, was not able to continue, but he walked off the field on his own.
There was no cut on his face, but significant swelling developed around the impact area. And Serven went for a CT Scan to examine the area. The team will have a better insight in the morning. Meanwhile, the A’s won the game 7-3 on Wednesday. The night before, they triumphed over the Angels (9-7) to put an end to their 6-game slide.
But that didn’t improve their overall situation, as they have already been eliminated. The Angels wouldn’t be hurt by the back-to-back losses either. They were the first team from the American League to be eliminated. They missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, the highest among active franchises.
While that is that, the injury to Brian Serven offers a disturbing pattern in MLB.
Serven’s scare adds to a troubling stretch of foul-ball injuries
Alex Bregman was preparing for his next at-bat on the on-deck circle during the game against the Cincinnati Reds this Sunday. Michael Busch checked his swing on a 97-mph fastball off reliever Luis Mey. The ball hit Busch’s bat and, after a quick drop near the plate, went straight toward Bregman. It struck him directly on the left side of his face, and he dropped his bat.
He ran towards the Cubs dugout, then stopped to cover his bleeding face with both hands. The athletic trainer came rushing with a towel, and Bregman went down the tunnel, straight to the hospital.
He tried to send a positive message from the hospital, posting an image with a caption, “Thanks for all the messages yall. I’ll be back.” But he’s down with multiple fractures on his face.
On Tuesday, Ronald Acuña Jr. had a somewhat similar fate. He took a hard swing at a 91-mph cutter off Brandon Williamson. It hit him in the leg, directly above the guard. The Atlanta Braves outfielder immediately went down on the ground. But he got up and tried to limp on one leg before the pain hit him at full throttle.
He was down again and couldn’t get up as the manager and athletic trainer approached him. He pointed toward his shin to help them understand where it was hurting. Acuña had to leave the game, but the initial X-ray came back negative. While that was a bit relieving, he is now day-to-day with a shin contusion.
All three of these players suffered injuries from foul balls, signalling an unfortunate but concerning pattern. The only good part about Brian Serven is that it appeared less severe than that of Bregman and Acuña Jr.
The A’s still have 4 games remaining in this season. Although they might not be of huge importance, losing a player to injury is never good for the team. The Athletics will now wait for the CT results to determine Serven’s availability for the final four games.