A positive day for Angels pitcher Jake Jewell turned into an unforgettable night for all the wrong reasons against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
Jewell was called up to the MLB team earlier in the day and inserted into only his third game in the bigs. After recording two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Jewell threw a wild pitch with runners on second and third.
J.D. Martinez, who was on third base, bolted for home as Jewell went to cover the plate. The 25-year-old righty slipped on the dirt and twisted his ankle awkwardly.
(Warning: Graphic video)
Sending big prayers to @Angels @JakeJewell21 Angels pitcher Jake Jewell, making only the third MLB appearance of his career, suffered a brutal injury on his right ankle Wednesday night while trying to slide into home for a play at the plate pic.twitter.com/5s310WlkcR
— AngelsDugout (@AngelsDugout) June 28, 2018
Jewell was taken of the field on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital.
The run from Martinez counted, but the play lingered in his mind even after the 9-6 Boston win.
"I felt bad. I kept saying, 'I didn't touch him,'" Martinez said (via Massive.com). "I didn't feel any kind of impact or anything like that. So I mean those are kind of the scariest ones almost. So it looked like he was in a lot of pain. Obviously prayers to him, and I felt bad once it happened. …
"I hope he doesn't feel bad like I slide into him right there like on purpose or something, because that's not what it was. Didn't even touch him."