Game #120: A’s loss overshadowed by Bassitt injury

A’s lose 9-0 but nobody cares about that right now

The Oakland A’s lost their game on Tuesday, but that’s a distant secondary consideration after the health of one of their players.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt was hit in the head by a line drive in the 2nd inning and had to go to the hospital. Oakland went on to lose 9-0 to the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

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There’s not much more to say. Chicago led off the bottom of the 2nd with a pair of singles, and then the next batter drilled a 100 mph liner that went straight back toward the mound and hit Bassitt on the right side of his face. He went down to the ground for a few minutes, then was helped up by the trainers into a cart and driven away for medical care.

Warning: The video clip below shows a scary injury moment.

A’s manager Bob Melvin provided this update after the game:

“Bass is conscious, he was the entire time. We don’t think the eye is a problem at this point. It felt like it was below it. He’s got some cuts, they had to do some stitches. He’s in a scan, and we’ll know more about potential fractures tomorrow or later tonight, we don’t know right now.”

Oakland brought in Burch Smith for emergency long relief, and the White Sox continued their rally to plate five runs, including a homer by former A’s teammate Jake Lamb. Then they scored a few more in the 4th, and, I dunno, whatever. It was difficult to focus on the game after the injury.

“There was a dark cloud around that game the whole time. … We’re all really hoping he escaped with just a bruise,” said White Sox manager Tony La Russa.

In baseball terms, the only thing worth mentioning is a quick look at which relievers absorbed the rest of the innings for the night, as that could have an effect on tomorrow’s game (and subsequently other players’ health). Smith went three, and Deolis Guerra, Jake Diekman, and Lou Trivino each worked one. The 8th inning was pitched by DH Mitch Moreland, who did a nice job finishing off a scoreless frame.

On offense, the A’s scattered eight baserunners (4 hits, 3 BB, 1 HBP), but half of them were eliminated via double plays. Only once did they put two runners on at once. Oakland never reached third base, and they only got to second base once — and then the next batter hit into a GIDP to end that inning.

Wishing the best for Bassitt

We’ll talk about baseball again tomorrow. Today a player got hurt, and in other news the A’s also lost a game.