Jason Heyward, the Atlanta Braves' right fielder, exited Wednesday's game with a head injury after getting hit on the head by New York Mets' lefty Jon Niese. Heyward was removed from the game after being the ball hit him square on his cheekbone in the sixth inning.
With a 1-2 count and two outs, Niese wanted to go up and in against Heyward, who has been red hot as of late. There was no ill intention as the game was 1-0, in favor of the Mets. The fastball kept riding high and inside and Heyward never had time to get on the way. You could hear the ball landing square on Heyward's left cheek before the 6' 5" right fielder hit the ground.
Braves' play-by-play man, Chip Caray thought the ball hit Heyward's helmet, but this wasn't this case. The ball got his cheek and got jaw. The 23-year-old was spitting blood as he was removed from the game. He left the field under his own power and was escorted by Braves' longtime trainer, Jeff Porter.
Following the incident, the Braves got to work. With Jordan Schafer running the base pads for Heyward, Andrelton Simmons smacked a single to center field and he was followed by the Braves' RBI machine, Freddie Freeman, who drove in Schafer with a base hit to center.
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This is the second time in the Braves' last time trip to Citi Field where a player suffers an injury. The Braves lost Tim Hudson for the season after Eric Young Jr. stepped on the pitcher as he was covering first base last month. It's a tough injury if Heyward can't return. He's been red hot in the last month of baseball, hitting .359 with four home runs and 10 RBI in his last 17 games.
