Atlanta Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb is expected to avoid the injured list after being hit on the back of the head by a line drive on Saturday night.
Newcomb had no concussion symptoms on Sunday a day after he was knocked out of his spot start when he was hit by a line driver hit by Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto.
“I’ve had some (high school) football hits that were harder than that,” Newcomb told reporters on Sunday, according to MLB.com. “I’ve had a few concussions. Right away, when it hit me in the head and I was down on the ground, I popped up, and I knew I was alright. I knew it wasn’t too, too bad.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said Sunday that Newcomb was sore but all the test results on the pitcher were good.
“He made it through the night good and felt good coming in. They exercised him just to see. He’s going to need a couple days anyway after the start. But as of right now, he’s feeling really good. We’re fortunate we dodged a bullet there,” he said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The ball hit by Realmuto in the third inning at SunTrust Park on Saturday was clocked at 102 mph and caromed off Newcomb’s head and sailed into the netting behind the Phillies’ dugout on the third-base side. Realmuto covered his mouth with both hands as he ran to first base on what went as a ground-rule double.
Newcomb is expected to return to pitching out of the bullpen.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.