Coming into American Family Field on Monday, the Cincinnati Reds knew they had to kick off the series against the Milwaukee Brewers with success to improve their record. A RBI double in the first by outfielder Dane Myers certainly helped. But as he tried to help the team extend their lead, he met with a tragic accident that forced him to leave the game.

Dane Myers, in the fourth, tried his best to save the narrow lead when things got out of hand. He covered 76 feet from center field while running backhanded to glove a 93-mph line drive on Milwaukee first baseman Andrew Vaughn’s leadoff. While he registered the first out in the bottom of the 4th, Myers went shoulder-first into the outfield fence.

“He reaches up and makes the catch and hammers into the wall. Oh my goodness gracious!” the live commentary detailed the moment while the entire stadium gasped. “He is down; he held on to the baseball, and he is in a world of pain.”

Head athletic trainer Sean McQueeney sprinted to the outfield, followed by manager Terry Francona. Myers let go of his glove and lay on the ground for a while before sitting up. But his face clearly showed how much pain he was in. And the 30-year-old was unable to put his feet under him. A medical cart came to take him off the field, while there was no change in the agony in his expression.

“He was X-rayed here and it came back negative,” Reds manager Terry Francona said after the game. “Saying that, we sent him to the hospital because he was in so much pain and so uncomfortable.

“The kid was really hurt and it wasn’t going away. I think they want to check for a lot of things, because you saw how violent it was. He was really in pain, he’s already at the hospital. We’ll see what we can find out.”

TJ Friedl replaced Dane Myers in center field while he was having an X-ray, which came back negative. But they still sent him to the hospital as he was in too much pain. However, injuries like this aren’t uncommon in MLB.

Just about two weeks ago, Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians suffered a similar incident and had a small fracture in his rib cage. We have also seen Jarren Duran crash into the fence trying to make a catch in late May. But the way the Red Sox LF admitted to being “willing to get hurt” for his pitcher shows how players routinely put their bodies on the line for outs.

Dane Myers had a few previous injuries to his knee, ankle, and oblique. But this was his first shoulder-related incident. That makes the team less worried about it being a major setback.

Unfortunately, Cincinnati couldn’t hold on to the benefits of his heroic sacrifice. Even though the Reds’ lineup made it 3-0 in the 5th inning, the Brewers ultimately secured a 5-3 win. Milwaukee swept the series when they visited Cincinnati just a week ago. And the Reds fans were hoping for retaliation on their road trip. But they have already lost the first game.

This means that the Reds will stay at the bottom of the NL Central with a 39-44 record. And the Brewers will keep the throne with a 51-31 record. Cincinnati will look for a way to make a comeback on Tuesday while Dane Myers waits to get back on his feet.