HOUSTON — Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was carted off the field after crashing face-first into the metal scoreboard in left field trying to make a catch in the eighth inning Sunday against the Houston Astros.
Ward was sprinting to try to make the catch on a double hit by Ramon Urias before running into the wall and being knocked to the ground. He quickly got up but immediately signaled for help. Someone came out of the bullpen and handed him a towel, which he pressed to his face.
Angels personnel quickly ran to him and he stood in the outfield as they and paramedics tended to him.
He was bleeding and appeared to have a cut above his right eye. He held a smaller cloth to his head as he was slowly carted off the field while resting his head on the shoulder of a team employee who rode the cart with him.
Ward was taken to a hospital by ambulance where interim manager Ray Montgomery said he would receive stitches to close the cut and be evaluated.
“Obviously he hit the wall pretty good,” Montgomery said. “He’s got a cut above his eye.”
Montgomery said he didn’t know if Ward had been evaluated for a concussion.
Fellow Angels outfielder Jo Adell said the team was shaken up by Ward’s injury and that a wall like that is a danger to players.
“The bottom line, and I’ve talked about this before, but there should be no out-of-town metal scoreboard anywhere on the baseball field,” Adell said. “It’s the big leagues. Like this is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he’s got to worry about a metal fence. That’s crazy.”
Christian Moore entered the game to play second base after Ward left, while Luis Rengifo moved from second base to left field.