The Kansas City Royals’ series against the Cleveland Guardians ended in a disappointing fashion for the Royals.
In the ninth inning of Sunday’s game, trailing 6-2 and down to their final out against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, the 2024 American League Reliever of the Year, things took a troubling turn. On a 1-1 pitch, Clase hit new Royals leadoff hitter Jon India with a 99 mph fastball to the jaw.
India was quickly escorted to the dugout by a trainer, visibly upset as he stared at Clase. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported that India doesn’t appear to have suffered a concussion, but the Royals will continue to monitor his condition in the coming days.
Regardless of whether the pitch was intentional, the Royals had reason to be frustrated with Clase for losing control and injuring a key player, especially after narrowly missing India with the previous pitch.
After the game, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, clearly upset, shared his thoughts on the incident.
“He threw a pitch he doesn’t normally throw, a four-seam fastball… then the next pitch came up and in,” Pasquantino said, according to Matt Foster of KSHB 41. “It looked like he was trying to control it, but it ended up hitting him in the face, right after almost hitting him the pitch before.”
“I’m more upset for Jon because we don’t know what’s going on with him. It sucks. Do I think there was intent behind it? No… but it felt like there was no adjustment, and that’s frustrating.”
Although Clase has only hit six batters in his entire regular season career, his high velocity can cause serious damage if a pitch goes astray. The 27-year-old pitcher also made a gesture toward the Royals’ dugout, signaling that he meant no harm.
It’s still unclear how much time India will miss, but hopefully, this incident doesn’t escalate into a larger conflict between the Royals and their division rivals.
Leave a Reply