D-backs' Peralta OK after hit in head by pitch from Marlins' Fernandez
Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder David Peralta left Wednesday's game against the Miami Marlins after being struck in the head with a pitch by Jose Fernandez.
Peralta was hit in the sixth inning and immediately went to the ground. Fernandez put his hands on his head as Arizona's trainer and manager Chip Hale ran out to check on Peralta.
Peralta lay still for nearly a minute before turning his head and eventually sitting up. He was helped up and slowly walked back to the Diamondbacks dugout.
"It's really scary; you never want to hit someone in the head," said Fernandez, who has become friends with Peralta after meeting him earlier this year. "The ball came out of my hand, I knew it was a really bad pitch. I was hoping for him to not get hit. I'm not too happy about that."
Hale and Arizona's trainer raced out to check on Peralta, who eventually sat up and walked off the field slowly. Peralta said the pitch hit him in the shoulder first and was fine after the game, but Hale wasn't too thrilled that the 0-2 pitch ended up where it did.
"Nobody should be pitching the ball by somebody's head. It is not the place to go," Hale said. "You just can't do that. People always say he didn't mean to do it. He probably didn't mean to do it, but nobody knows that."
Arizona bench coach Turner Ward was ejected after yelling something from the dugout after Peralta was hit, and Diamondbacks reliever Dominic Leone was ejected in the seventh inning after hitting Christian Yelich with a pitch. But the Marlins didn't seem to mind that since Yelich was hit in the backside.
"The Diamondbacks handled it the right way," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "It's part of baseball."
