Jennings Hit in Head During Loss

The Miami Marlins lost on Thursday to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a final of 7-2 in a game that featured a scary incident on the mound.

Dan Jennings was hit on the left side of his head by a line drive off the bat of Jordy Mercer in the seventh inning. The reliever almost fell down after the impact and was helped from falling over by Marlins' catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Jennings would end up being carted off the field after a nearly five minute delay.

The ball came off the bat at 101 miles per hour according to the Marlins' broadcasting team. Trainers from both teams checked on Jennings and the crowd gave him an ovation as he was driven off. Jennings raised his hand to the crowd which was an encouraging sign.

Jennnigs was taken to a local hospital where he will be evaulated further.

Before the scary moment, Brian Flynn was on the mound and ended up taking the loss in this one. Flynn who was making a spot start in place of Jarred Cosart went four innings in which he allowed five runs on eight hits. Flynn walked two and struck out three in the brief start.

Sam Dyson was first out of the bullpen for Miami and turned in two innings of shutout relief. Next Jennings entered and retired the only two batters he faced before the injury. A.J. Ramos would pick up the last out following the delay. In the eighth, the Pirates added two more runs off of Steve Cishek.

In the ninth inning, Giancarlo Stanton hit his 27th home run of the season for the lone Miami run on the day. The Marlins had two hits in the inning after only having one hit total in the first eight frames.