Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann displayed remarkable resilience on Monday afternoon. In the bottom of the first inning, McCann was struck in the face by a 94.6 mph fastball from Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yariel RodrÃguez, causing him to bleed heavily. Despite the injury, McCann stayed in the game and caught all nine innings.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde praised McCann’s toughness after the game, noting that while McCann didn’t suffer head or eye trauma, he might have a broken nose and will undergo a CT scan. Hyde indicated that it appears they avoided a more serious injury.
After a lengthy delay during which trainer Brian Ebel stopped the bleeding, McCann changed his bloodied jersey and continued playing, earning cheers from the sparse crowd at Camden Yards during the first game of a doubleheader (BAL 11, TOR 5). His eye was swollen later in the game.
The Orioles have two catchers on their roster—McCann and Adley Rutschman. Had McCann left the game in the first inning, Rutschman would have had to catch almost two full games, or the Orioles would have needed to call up a third catcher on short notice.
McCann’s toughness was noted by Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells, who is currently recovering from season-ending elbow surgery.
This incident marks the second time in a month that an Orioles player has been hit in the head by a pitch. On July 12, outfielder Heston Kjerstad was struck in the head by a pitch from Yankees closer Clay Holmes and was placed on the concussion list for eight days.
McCann, 34, went 1-for-3 in Monday’s game and is batting .218/.273/.324 as Rutschman’s backup. He is in the final year of his four-year, $40.6 million contract with the New York Mets, who are covering most of his salary.
The win in the first game of the doubleheader improved the Orioles’ record to 63-43, keeping them 1.5 games ahead in the AL East.
