Angels’ Lucroy carted off after collision at plate
Jake Marisnick attempts to slide home and ends up colliding with Jonathan Lucroy, leading to Lucroy leaving the game. (0:57)
HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was carted off the field in the eighth inning after a collision at the plate with the Houston Astros‘ Jake Marisnick.
The Angels said Lucroy was sent to a local hospital to receive a CT scan and will be evaluated for a possible concussion and fractured nose.
“It certainly didn’t look like a clean play,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said after his team fell to the Astros 11-10 in 10 innings. “I don’t know what actually happened, but it looked like Marisnick took a step to the left and bowled into him with his arm up. The call was right. Really, I think Major League Baseball should probably take a look at it. Consider some type of suspension, quite frankly.”
Ausmus said he hadn’t spoken to Lucroy since the game ended, but that he tried talking to him on the field and “he was pretty confused at the time.”
The bases were loaded with the game tied at 10 when Marisnick attempted to score on a sacrifice fly by George Springer.
Marisnick crashed into Lucroy as the catcher attempted to field the throw, and Lucroy immediately fell on his back. He didn’t move for a few seconds before struggling to sit up. Marisnick tagged home and then leaned over Lucroy to see if he was OK. Lucroy lifted his head off the ground a few seconds later as blood dripped from his nose.
Angels players rushed to the plate as trainers checked on him. He was lifted to a sitting position after a couple of minutes and held a towel to his nose. He was then helped to a cart and taken off the field while clutching a bloodstained towel.
The Baseball Tonight crew discusses Jake Marisnick’s collision with Jonathan Lucroy and how the rule for collisions at home plate is causing some confusion.
Marisnick was called out for colliding with Lucroy, and the call was upheld after a crew-chief review to end the inning. Marisnick veered out of the baseline and lowered his shoulder to make contact with Lucroy. Marisnick and Lucroy banged heads on the play, and the back of Lucroy’s head also struck the infield dirt.
“I watched the play again and it looks — he just drops right in front of me and once I kind of made a decision it was too late,” Marisnick said. “It was a bad play and I hope he’s OK.”
Astros manager AJ Hinch said Marisnick certainly didn’t intend to injure Lucroy.
“I don’t fault Jake because he wasn’t hunting him, he wasn’t going after him,” Hinch said. “He tried to take a step on where Lucroy was going to go, and it’s difficult in that little 1-3 foot circle where you’re trying to figure out going at full speed what’s going to happen. It just turned out to be an ugly play.”
Marisnick added that he planned to reach out to Lucroy to check on him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.