A screaming line drive off the bat of Wilson Contreras couldn’t knock the sense of humor out of Rick Porcello.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher was given the scare of a lifetime Monday night when Contreras’ sharp line drive struck Porcello in the side of the head in Boston’s penultimate spring training game in Mesa, Arizona.
Fear quickly turned to laughter, however, as Porcello indicated right away he was OK. He even spooked Red Sox manager Alex Cora and trainer Brad Pearson by, yes, barking at them. As Pearson went to closely examine Porcello’s noggin, the 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner jokingly snapped at him, catching both Pearson and Cora off guard.
“He pulled this trick on me and (trainer) Brad (Pearson), he told Brad to touch it, like, ‘Yeah it was right here,’ and he barked like a dog and he scared the living whatever out of me,” Cora told reporters, per the Boston Herald. “I told him ‘Now I’m going to be on TV the rest of my career for the wrong reasons,’ but he’s OK.”
That last part obviously is the best news. Porcello stayed in the game and indicated after the eventual loss that he felt fine.
“Obviously it’s scary when you get a ball hit back at you, especially when it hits you in the head,” Porcello said, per the Herald. “I was trying to let Brad and AC know I was fine, and he and Alex were (checking) that I wasn’t feeling any symptoms or anything like that, so I felt like the only way I could do that was to crack a joke.”
Porcello also said he didn’t feel wobbly or anything after regaining his bearings, so it seems he’ll be fine. The right-hander is expected to start this weekend in Seattle.
