BALTIMORE — The collision looked awful and seems likely to impact the Detroit Tigers moving forward.
Anthony Santander crushed a fly ball between Tigers left fielder Akil Baddoo and center fielder Derek Hill, with reliever Michael Fulmer pitching in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 9-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Baddoo and Hill, who made the catch, ran into each other and dropped to the warning track in pain. Both players exited the game with injures.
“It was a ball hit probably in the perfect spot for both guys to be going full speed and both with a chance to catch it,” manager AJ Hinch said. “You don’t see it a lot at this level, but when you see them, they’re nasty. Two big, physical athletes.”
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Hinch provided immediate updates on Baddoo and Hill, two of the most exciting young players on the roster, but they’re still undergoing tests.
“Akil is getting checked out for a concussion and shoulder,” Hinch said. “I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t need at least a few days, if not an (injured list) stint. Derek’s getting his ribs checked out. It looked like Akil’s head went right into his ribcage. I think Derek’s elbow smoked Akil.”
“When I got out there, both guys were pretty beat up and in a lot of pain. Very scary incident, and hopefully it’s just minimal at best. I just talked to Akil in the clubhouse, so he’s alert and doing OK, just a little beat up. I haven’t seen Derek yet.”
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.