Milwaukee Brewers rookie reliever Gus Varland avoided what could’ve been a very serious situation after his Saturday outing against the San Diego Padres.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Varland hung a slider in the middle of the plate to Padres slugger Manny Machado, who took his bat and hit it 105 mph off the bat.
Unfortunately, the ball went right back where it came from and hit Varland, who fell on the mound while Brewers shortstop Willy Adames threw out Machado at first base.
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But everyone was worried about Varland, who sprung up as his teammates and trainers met with him on the mound. Varland was told to go down on one knee, as the ball clearly hit him in the face at one point.
After evaluation, Varland came out of the game, walking off on his own power as the crowd cheered for him.
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Varland was made available to reporters after the game in the Brewers’ locker room, where he wasn’t too worried about himself.
"I’m more mad about the slider location," he said to reporters, via MLB.com. "It felt good out of the hand, but it just didn’t get there. Came back at me. Hit my hand and my chin, hit my left forearm. Just kinda rocked me a little bit. I felt like I could’ve kept going, but I think that’s the adrenaline talking. X-rays came back all good and ready to go."
Varland added that he had been hit in the minors a couple of times with come-backers, but it was in the "leg area." Never had a ball come this high, but he’s glad things weren't worse considering the exit velocity.
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Varland has just six games of MLB experience under his belt. He didn’t allow a run in his first four appearances but gave up two earned in 1.1 innings against the Miami Marlins prior to his appearance on Saturday.
He is hoping to get back on the mound soon.
"Don’t hang your sliders middle-middle. Lesson learned," Varland said.
