Pillar has nasal fractures after scary HBP

In the top of the seventh inning of Monday night's 3-1 Mets win at Truist Park, Kevin Pillar exited the game after being struck in the face with a 94.5 mph fastball.

After being tended to by the Mets' medical staff, Pillar walked off the field and into the locker room under his own power. He was taken to the hospital where he underwent a CT scan. It was determined that he suffered multiple nasal fractures, the Mets said on Tuesday. Pillar will be meeting with a facial specialist in Atlanta to determine the next steps.

Pillar tweeted about an hour after the game, even managing to make light of the fact that his hit-by-pitch ended up providing the game-winning RBI.

"Thanks to everyone that has reached out!" Pillar said. "Scary moment but I’m doing fine! #RBI #gamewinner"

The bases were loaded when Pillar was hit by Jacob Webb's errant pitch, and James McCann scored to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.

“This guy's a warrior. He shows up every day to play hard, and you guys saw him, he got up on his feet and left,” said Mets manager Luis Rojas. “There’s no chance I thought he was going to be able to do that after I saw the ball hit him in the face, but he got up and he left. That’s at least one positive to see.”

"That’s about as sickening a thing you can see on a baseball field, when a kid gets hit like that," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I just keep that kid in my prayers. Hopefully, everything will work out OK, because this guy is nothing but a pro, the way he handles himself and the way he plays the game."

"Nobody in the ballpark thought [Webb] was trying to do that on purpose," Atlanta catcher Jeff Mathis said. "He felt terrible. That was obviously nothing he wanted to do. But it is a part of baseball. As much as it stinks, all we can do is hope that he is OK."

Pillar, who is hitting .250 with two home runs this season, was replaced by rookie Khalil Lee, who entered as a pinch-runner to make his Major League debut.

The Mets have been unlucky with injuries of late, as starter Taijuan Walker left Monday night's game after experiencing left side tightness in the third.

This was not the first time Pillar has taken a pitch to the face. Prior to Monday night's HBP, Pillar had two previous experiences of taking a pitch to the helmet. The first time came on April 8, 2016, against the Red Sox, when Pillar was a member of the Blue Jays. With the bases loaded, Pillar took a pitch to the bill of his helmet, which limited the damage. The second came on Aug. 30, 2019, against the Padres, when Pillar took a 97-mph fastball to the jaw while a member of the Giants.