Surprise, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman left Wednesday's game against Kansas City after being hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Royals catcher Salvador Perez.
The Reds said Chapman was taken to Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City, where tests indicated fractures above his left eye and nose. He was transferred to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he will undergo further testing. He will be kept overnight for observation.
The Cactus League game at Surprise Stadium was canceled after the incident, with the Royals winning by a 6-3 score.
Chapman entered the game in the bottom of the sixth with Cincinnati trailing by a 5-3 score. With two outs and the bases loaded, Perez crushed a 99-mph fastball up the middle. The ball struck Chapman in the face, and he immediately went down. A run scored on a Perez single.
Chapman was immobilized and placed on a stretcher and carried off by a medical cart.
"He never lost consciousness," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "He was able to communicate. He was able to move his hands, his feet, his legs. I'm not a doctor. I don't want to go much further than that. It got him pretty flush just above the left eye is what it looks like."
The left-hander went 4-5 with 38 saves and a 2.54 ERA in 68 appearances last season.
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