June 20 (UPI) -- Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Hunter Bigge was hit in the face with a 105.1-mph foul ball and hospitalized, but was coherent and remained conscious, manager Kevin Cash told reporters after a loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Bigge was hit in the top of the seventh inning of the 4-1 setback Thursday night in Tampa, Fla. The 27-year-old reliever, who is on the injured list because of a lat strain, was sitting on a bench near the front railing of the Rays dugout at George M. Steinbrenner Field when the ball struck him.
"He's coherent," Cash said Thursday. "He's talking to the physician. He's going to have a lot of tests. ... I don't have a ton to add other than that."
The Rays are expected to provide an update on Bigge later Friday. The relief pitcher gave a thumbs-up sign to the crowd as he was taken away on a stretcher.
Orioles All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman was at the plate during the incident. Rays pitcher Connor Seabold threw in a 3-2 slider for the eighth pitch of his exchange with the Orioles catcher. Rutschman slapped the high-and-inside offering to his right, sending the ball flying toward the dugout and hitting Bigge.
