Matt Chapman leaves game after being hit in head by pitch

Oakland A’s star Matt Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch on Wednesday, and exited the game shortly thereafter. (UPDATE: Chapman is OK, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle.)

Chapman was batting in the 1st inning against Kansas City Royals starter Jakob Junis, when the 1-1 pitch knocked off his helmet. He stayed in the game and scored later in the inning, and even made his next at-bat in the 2nd inning, resulting in a lineout to center field. However, in the bottom of the 2nd, he was replaced at third base by Chad Pinder.

In an unrelated story, Slusser reported (before the game started) that infield prospect Sheldon Neuse will be called up on Thursday, when DH Khris Davis goes on the three-day paternity list for the birth of his child. Neuse has played predominantly third base in his career and is considered a strong defender there, though he’s been trying out at second base for most of August.

UPDATE: Sounds like good news so far.

“Melvin says Chapman is OK and is not going through the concussion protocol but got ‘a little blurry there.’”

“Canha says he talked to Chapman and Chapman is feeling OK - he did go through concussion test and doesn’t have one. But scary moment for everyone.”

Hot takes

Yikes! Here’s hoping Chappy is OK.

In the meantime, in baseball terms, if the unthinkable happens and he has to miss some time, then Neuse happens to be the team’s top 3B prospect. That would make it a convenient coincidence that he’s the one who was headed up anyway. But of course that’s just a tiny detail amid the specter of injury to another player.

Other injury update

Starting pitcher Sean Manaea has joined the A’s in Kansas City, reports Ben Ross of NBCS. The left-hander had been rehabbing in Triple-A and striking out everybody in sight, along with reports of his velocity getting back up over 90 mph. No word yet on when he’ll be activated, but being physically present is a big step in that direction.