MLB

WATCH: Dustin Nippert’s Head on Wrong End of Line Drive

Last night was a scary one for Texas Ranger pitcher Dustin Nippert. Facing Austin Jackson in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied, Nippert was not able to get out of the way of a hot shot right back at him and was struck in the head. As you watch the video below, you can see that Nippert tried to get out of the way the best he can.

There have been several serious injuries sustained by pitchers over the years when it comes to screaming line drives –  the recent one that comes to mind for Red Sox fans is most likely a 2005 incident in Tampa involving Matt Clement. A shot off the bat of Carl Crawford ricocheted off of Clement and rolled all the way to the outfield wall in the Trop – and Clement was never really the same pitcher ever again.

It’s always a scary injury, and even though Nippert left the game after being struck yesterday, he did it on his own power. Here’s hoping the young starter gets right back out there. Rangers manager Ron Washington noted in a statement reported by the AP that he is debating whether or not to put Nippert on the DL (a CT scan came back negative).