ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Yankees’ 6-3, 10-inning win over the Angels was delayed in the top of the sixth inning Wednesday night after Ben Rice roped a foul ball into the first-base camera well and hit a photographer in the head.
The Yankees medical staff, including director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck, jumped in to tend to the photographer while head trainer Tim Lentych called for a cart as the crowd went quiet after the scary scene.
After a delay of about 10 minutes, the photographer walked under his own power (with a neck brace) to a medical cart, where Rice was waiting to shake his hand before he was driven off.
An Angels spokesman relayed, via the photographer’s outlet, that he was receiving medical attention but was OK.
“Very relieved,” Rice said. “I saw it, he definitely was not ready for any kind of impact there, he was looking the other direction.
“I wasn’t sure how square it hit him in the head, but definitely a scary scene, so happy to hear he’s OK.”
The ball came off Rice’s bat at 79.5 mph, a low line drive that went right through the far opening to stairs in the Yankees dugout and plunked the photographer.
Once the cart left the field, Angels lefty Reid Detmers threw a few warmup pitches before the game resumed, with Rice ultimately flying out to center field on the ninth pitch of his at-bat.
