Michael Wacha had some cosmically bad luck during Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday.
The Kansas City Royals righty Wacha, who got the start against the New York Yankees, had just completed his first inning of work and was sitting in the dugout while his team batted in the bottom half. But Wacha got a bad break when a foul ball off the bat of Royals teammate Michael Massey bounced straight towards him and struck him in the neck.
Here is the video, which showed Wacha eventually leaving towards the clubhouse with a trainer while rubbing his neck.
Royals starter Michael Wacha was hit in the neck by a Michael Massey foul ball while sitting in the dugout in the bottom of the first pic.twitter.com/VW9NwiIohi
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 11, 2024
Fortunately for Wacha, it appears that he was alright. The former All-Star was back out there like usual for the top of the second inning. He would remain in the contest through the fifth inning but was pulled for reliever Lucas Erceg to get the final out of the frame (after Wacha gave up an RBI single to Gleyber Torres to make it 2-0 Yankees).
Wacha, 33, was one of Kansas City’s better pitchers in the regular season, going 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA in 29 starts. The Royals were lucky that Wacha seemed to be OK there, especially given the other dugout-related injuries we have seen in baseball lately.
