A scary moment happened during Friday’s matchup between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals when rookie 1B Spencer Torkelson was hit in the helmet by a changeup from Brad Keller.
The play took place in the bottom of the seventh inning when Keller hit Torkelson in the helmet with an 88 mph changeup.
After being hit, Torkelson asked to stay in the game but A.J. Hinch and Tigers’ trainer Doug Teter decided to take him out of the game.
Following the game, Hinch told reporters that Torkelson did not have a concussion but he would not start on Saturday.
“No concussion,” manager A.J. Hinch said after Friday’s 3-1 loss. “We’re going to evaluate him overnight. He’s not going to start tomorrow. I’m sure he’ll be available if all continues to be how it is now. It’s scary, anybody that gets hit up near the head.”
“Luckily, he had that new guard on (his helmet) that guys are wearing that covers the beginning of his chin,” Hinch said. “I think his shoulder pushed it up and protected his face. All signs are pointing positive now, so that’s a good sign.”
Spencer Torkelson says he has ‘no beef’ with Royals after getting hit by pitch
Prior to Saturday’s game, Spencer Torkelson told the media that there is no beef between the Royals and Tigers and that what happened is just part of the game.
“It rung my bell a little bit,” Torkelson said Saturday.
“It didn’t really swell up too bad,” Torkelson said. “I didn’t even put ice on it. But it definitely got red.”
At some point last night, Torkelson spoke to Keller and Keller apologized for what happened.
“No big deal,” Torkelson responded. “It’s part of the game.”
Keller clearly did not feel to good about hitting Torkelson in the helmet.
“How the outing ended, I hate that it ended that way, with the changeup that got away from me and hit Torkelson in the head,” Keller said Friday. “That’s really tough to see. I’m happy to hear that he’s doing all right.”
The last time the Tigers and Royals met, Torkelson blasted a 432-foot home run against Keller before yelling “Come on, baby!” and trotting slowly around the bases.
TORK TALK 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/biz87hp1Ji
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 16, 2022
When asked if he thought that had anything to do with what happened, Torkelson quickly brushed it off.
“We don’t have any beef with the Royals, and we’re good friends with many guys on the team,” Torkelson said. “You know there’s no intent, especially in a two-strike count in a 3-0 ballgame. 1-2 count, and then it’s a changeup. There’s nothing going on there.”
