PHOENIX — Arizona starting pitcher Archie Bradley fell to the mound Tuesday in a scary moment at Chase Field after he was hit square in the face by a line drive.
Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez lined a hit right back at Bradley. Tracking technology measured the hit as 115 mph off his bat.
It hit Bradley in the right cheek and he fell immediately into the dirt.
“As a hitter, it’s a nightmare,” Gonzalez said. “It’s devastating… It just ruined my night. It ruined everybody’s night.”
Gonzalez ended up safe at first base. But Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch rushed to the mound to check on Bradley.
He laid in the dirt for several minutes, with Arizona’s players gathered around the mound. Two D-backs trainers were joined by Rockies athletic trainer Scott Gehret.
“That was as bad as I’ve seen,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “It was certainly a dark moment.”
Bradley walked off the field under his own power, but with his face swollen. He was taken to a Phoenix-area hospital. The Diamondbacks’ head athletic trainer, Ken Crenshaw, said he never suffered any concussion symptoms.
“All in all, it’s really good news,” Crenshaw said. “He got really lucky that it wasn’t an inch or two higher or an inch or two lower.”
Bradley was replaced by Andrew Chafin.
The 22-year-old Bradley, a prized rookie, entered 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts. His first two major league wins came this season against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
Bradley was selected seventh overall by Arizona in the 2011 amateur draft.
“Well it’s not pretty to look at the mirror right now,” Bradley said after the game, after he returned to Chase Field. “Now my concern is to get healthy and get back out there.”
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or
The Associated Press contributed to this report
