Ohlendorf 'lucky' after liner to head in 6-2 win
-
Pitcher Ross Ohlendorf is ushered off the field by the Pirates' athletic trainer, Brad Henderson, after being struck in the head by a line drive in the first inning Wednesday at Coors Field. -
Pirates third base coach Tony Beasley, left, congratulates Garrett Jones as he runs towards home plate after a solo home run in the eight inning. Garrett Jones had two home runs. -
Pirates pitcher Sean Gallagher throws after pitcher Ross Ohlendorf left the game after being struck by a line drive hit by the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki in the first inning of Wednesday's game at Coors Field in Denver. -
The Pirates' Garrett Jones, right, is congratulated by Ryan Church, left, and Zach Duke, center, after defeating the Rockies, 6-2. -
The Pirates' Garrett Jones hits a double in the fifth inning. -
Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno leaps back to tag out the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki in the sixth inning.
Share with others:
DENVER -- Anyone who thinks baseball players are not tough ...
How about Ross Ohlendorf?
Struck in the head by a line drive in the first inning and knocked out of the game, he was back at Coors Field by the sixth after a brief hospital visit, then shaking hands with teammates on the field after the Pirates' gritty 6-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies Wednesday night.
A CT scan at nearby Rose Medical Center cleared Ohlendorf of any trauma to the brain, and the doctors' diagnosis was a deep bruise and some abrasion on the upper right portion of the head. He said he felt "just fine" after the game, but the team plans to monitor him for concussion symptoms.
How about Andrew McCutchen?
He briefly reinjured his right shoulder while crashing into the center-field fence for a fine catch in the fifth inning. But he stayed in the game to add a single and double to his 3-for-4 day, then made a sliding catch in the ninth with a four-run lead.
Game: Pirates vs. Colorado Rockies, 3:10 p.m., Coors Field.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: LHP Paul Maholm (6-8, 4.13) vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (15-2, 2.75).
Key matchup: Colorado's cleanup man, Troy Tulowitzki, is 6 for 11 vs. Maholm, with a home run and two doubles.
Of note: Jimenez, a Cy Young favorite, has dominated the Pirates in four career starts, with a 1.61 ERA, .186 opponents' batting average and 21 strikeouts in 28 innings.
• The PBC Blog
• Box score
• Statistics
• Standings
"We've got some tough guys in here, man," closer Octavio Dotel said. "It was an unbelievable night."
That might not be hyperbole, and that is without even mentioning that Garrett Jones homered twice in going 4 for 4 with three RBIs. Or that six relievers backed Ohlendorf with 8 1/3 innings and one run allowed, headlined by newcomer Sean Gallagher's three zeroes right after Ohlendorf's exit.
It all started out so much worse.
With one out in the first, Ohlendorf's ninth pitch of the game was a 93-mph fastball that Colorado slugger Troy Tulowitzki hit with enough force that the carom off Ohlendorf's head made an audible thud, then popped high into the air and landed all the way in shallow right field.
The follow-through of Ohlendorf's delivery had him twisting away from the liner and, when it struck him, he momentarily took to his left knee. But he was walking off the mound and watching the ball even before it landed. The only sign that anything was amiss his right hand on the cap.
First Published July 29, 2010 12:03 am
