FORT MYERS, Fla. - The moment was about as frightening as you could find on a baseball field.
Fastball right to the face.
That's what happened to Justin Turner in the bottom of the first inning Monday afternoon when Matt Manning's pitch hit the Red Sox first baseman, sending him to the ground while drawing a significant amount of blood.
Turner was ultimately helped off the field by Red Sox trainer Brandon Henry before taken to a local hospital. The only information coming from the team after the incident came in the form of a statement that read: “Justin Turner was taken to a local hospital after being hit in the face by a pitch. He is receiving treatment for soft tissue injuries and is being monitored for a concussion. He will undergo further testing, and we’ll update as we have more information. Justin is stable, alert and in good spirits given the circumstances.”
Perhaps the most encouraging news came later in the day thanks to a tweet from Turner's wife, Kourtney.
After the game, Manning explained his perspective of the incident.
"It was a complete accident; ball just got away,” Manning told reporters. “I got a swing and miss on a ball kind of up in the zone, so I tried to go back to it, and it just got away from me."
It was a moment that left an impression on many of Turner's teammates, as was evident by comments made by Triston Casas to MLB.com.
“Yeah, I was distraught for like, the first two innings honestly,” Casas told Ian Browne. “As a baseball player, that's your biggest fear, for sure, running into a pitch like that coming up and in. It's a scary sight. And, it was like, hard drop, just like a pit-in-my-stomach feeling.”