Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk had to leave Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers when he was struck in the hand by a pitch.
The incident occurred during Kirk’s at-bat in the second inning.
The count was 0-2 on Kirk when Jon Gray’s pitch was inside and caught the 24-year-old on the hand. He was assessed on the field by Toronto’s trainer, but manager John Schneider then signaled toward the dugout and Danny Jansen made his way out to replace Kirk as a pinch runner.
Kirk is slashing .253/.333/.331 this season in 58 games.
An x-ray ruled out a fracture, according to a tweet by the ball club, though Kirk was left to nurse a cut and a bruise to his left hand.
After the game, Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters that Kirk received a few stitches and they will reevaluate him on Monday. Schneider also said that the team will have its “bases covered” in terms of replacing Kirk, which means catcher Tyler Heineman could be recalled from triple-A Buffalo.
