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If you haven’t seen the video of Jason Heyward getting hit in the face by a 90-mph fastball, save yourself a sick stomach. The Atlanta Braves‘ young star left his team’s 4-1 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday and has been diagnosed with a broken jaw, which will likely sideline him 4-6 weeks.
X-rays from a Manhattan hospital show Heyward has two different fractures in his right jaw according to a report by MLB‘s official website. The pitch hit him awkwardly and obviously with a lot of force and he’s actually lucky it didn’t do worse damage to his face.
Before getting plunked by Mets pitcher Jon Niese – whose errant pitch didn’t appear to intentional — Heyward was hitting .253 for the season with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs. Injuries are never a good thing, especially for big-name players like Heyward, but if it had to come, at least it came at a good time for the Braves.
Atlanta is a whopping 15.5 games ahead of the Washington Nationals in the NL East division title race, so even if Heyward misses significant time, the Braves should be fine to wrap up their crown and playoff spot without the 24-year-old slugger.
Check back with Rant Sports for more information regarding Heyward’s time off the field.
