MILWAUKEE -- Less than 24 hours after Jonathan India was drilled in the head by a 98.9 mph cutter, the Royals infielder/outfielder was back in the lineup Monday, hitting leadoff and playing third base, and he wasted no time helping out the offense by knocking three hits and driving in two runs in the Royals¡¯ 11-1 win over the Brewers.
According to manager Matt Quatraro, India was adamant that he wanted to be in the lineup before the Royals even took off for Milwaukee on Sunday night.
¡°With a guy like that, [who is] ultra competitive, if he's that adamant about being in there, that sends a real good message to our team about what it takes to get out here and be a championship caliber player,¡± Quatraro said Monday.
Consider Royals catcher Salvador Perez impressed by India¡¯s ability to play Monday, too.
¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯ve never seen in my career,¡± Perez said. ¡°He¡¯s one of the toughest guys I¡¯ve ever met in my life. He gets hit in the head [with a] 99-100 mph fastball, comes in the next day and plays. Not just plays -- gets three hits, helps the team to win.¡±
The ball hit India square on the side of the head in the left temple area. Luckily, the batting helmet protected him, and he seemed to avoid the worst case scenario. However, the Royals are continuing to monitor India for any delayed concussion symptoms and will proceed with caution as he does get back on the field.
Despite the persistence from India to play, he still had to get cleared from the medical team. A CAT scan taken before the Royals flew to Milwaukee didn¡¯t show any fractures or bleeding, Quatraro said, and India showed no concussion symptoms on Sunday night or Monday before the game.
India said he felt ¡°good¡± on Monday morning and then elaborated on the situation after the game.
¡°That was a tough one yesterday,¡± India said. ¡°That was very scary. But lucked out. Nothing was wrong with my face. I was able to play, I wanted to play, and they let me.
¡°... Scary moment that got me pretty good, but the Lord had me there.¡±
Emotions were high after India was hit Sunday -- from him and the rest of the Royals dugout as they reacted to the scary situation. The ball was inches away from severely injuring India.
India said he was ¡°pissed¡± afterward, but once everything checked out medically, he knew he wanted to play the next day, because that¡¯s who he is as a player. It wasn¡¯t hard for him to focus when he stepped in the box in the top of the first inning Monday.
¡°I¡¯ve been in the head before,¡± India said. ¡°It¡¯s part of baseball. Pitchers, when they throw high and in like that, they should get reprimanded for that. But it¡¯s part of baseball, I guess. And that¡¯s what happened.¡±
Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase texted Perez to apologize and say there was no intent behind the pitch -- that the pitch slipped out of his hand.
¡°He reached out to me and said there was nothing on purpose,¡± Perez said. ¡°It was cold that day. The ball slipped out of his hand. He apologized a lot. Everybody, a lot of guys from Cleveland, reached out to me. ¡ Especially the way the situation [was], they wanted to win the game. [I¡¯ve known] Clase for a little bit. He¡¯s not that kind of guy.
¡°It¡¯s a scary situation for everybody. I don¡¯t want nobody to get hit in the head. Even today, [Christian] Yelich, it was close to him [in the third inning], I don¡¯t like that. We¡¯re just here to compete, have fun, play the game the right way, play hard and see what happens at the last out.¡±
Quatraro said Monday that he heard from several people in the Guardians organization following the game.
¡°I don¡¯t think it was intentional,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°I don¡¯t know any reason that it would be. I don¡¯t think they would have had any sort of history, or I don¡¯t think anything happened in those three games that would have led to them needing to feel like they needed to throw at us.¡±
Quatraro continued: ¡°It¡¯s emotional. You see a guy get hit in the head, and you¡¯re more concerned for his life. You¡¯re talking about a fraction of an inch from life and death, from a guy throwing 100 mph. It¡¯s emotional. Guys are going to be upset.¡±
The Royals did make a separate roster move Monday when they placed outfielder Dairon Blanco on the 10-day injured list with right achilles tendinopathy, an injury that he dealt with in Spring Training and that was aggravated again Sunday when his right foot hit first base in the eighth inning.
Infielder/outfielder Tyler Tolbert was selected to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Omaha. After a 4:50 a.m. CT flight out of Omaha, Neb., to Chicago on Monday and a 90-plus minute drive up to Milwaukee, Tolbert¡¯s first appearance will be his Major League debut.
Blanco¡¯s role with the Royals isn¡¯t easy to fill as a pinch-runner who is as close to automatic on the bases as a speedster can get. He stole 31 bases last season -- and 21 of them came as a pinch-runner. He already has two bags this season in three games. Blanco¡¯s recovery timeline is unclear; he¡¯ll spend at least the next 10 days getting treatment before the Royals evaluate a return-to-play plan.
But Tolbert is as good of a replacement as the Royals might get. The 27-year-old has 243 stolen bases across six Minor League seasons and has been caught just 16 times. Speed is Tolbert¡¯s best tool, but he¡¯s a solid defensive player up the middle at shortstop, second base and center field.
The Royals' 13th-round pick in the 2019 Draft, Tolbert has a .245/.333/.359 slash line in his Minor League career.
¡°Just being fearless, honestly, going out there and trying to get the extra 90 feet,¡± Tolbert said. ¡°I¡¯m in scoring position from first base, but get the extra 90 feet and make the job easier for the hitter that¡¯s hitting behind me. That¡¯s my whole goal.¡±