PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Amed Rosario left Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after being hit in the head with a 99 mph fastball from Pirates rookie Jared Jones.
Jones' third pitch to the right-handed Rosario went up and in, striking Rosario's helmet.
Rosario crouched over for several moments at scorching PNC Park — where the game-time temperature was 95 degrees — before being helped off the field by members of the Tampa Bay training staff.
The Rays said Rosario sustained facial cuts. Manager Kevin Cash said Rosario had a “stitch or two” on his lip but called the outcome a “best-case scenario.”
“That was a scary moment for both clubs, certainly our club and I’m glad he’s OK,” Cash said.
Richie Palacios pinch-ran for Rosario. Palacios then took over at second base at the bottom of the first, while starting second baseman José Caballero slid over to third to take Rosario's spot on defense.
Rosario was the second Tampa player hit by Jones in the top of the first. The right-hander hit designated hitter Brandon Lowe in the side earlier.
Control hasn't been an issue much this year for Jones, who entered Saturday with 22 walks and two hit batters in 79 innings.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Amed Rosario, front right, reacts after getting hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jared Jones during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Tampa Bay Rays' Amed Rosario (10) is tended to after getting hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jared Jones during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Amed Rosario throws to first for an out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea this week as the U.S. positions warships to try to keep fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon from escalating into a wider war in the Middle East.
While the Wasp has the capability to assist in the evacuation of civilians if full-scale war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon border, that’s not the primary reason it was rotated in, a U.S. official said. “It’s about deterrence,” the official said.
A second U.S. official said the rotation is similar to how the U.S. sent the USS Bataan assault ship into the waters around Israel shortly after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on the country, with the vessel remaining for months in the eastern Mediterranean to help provide options and try to contain the conflict. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operational details.
U.S. European Command, which is responsible for ships operating in the Mediterranean, announced the move this week, saying the Wasp and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard would sail with the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill, which is used to transport Marines, landing craft, vehicles and cargo. The Oak Hill is already in the Mediterranean.
The Wasp also is sailing with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York, which can deliver troops either by on-deck helicopters or landing vessels.
It all comes as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border strikes since the Oct. 7 attacks that launched the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and they have been escalating gradually.
The Israeli army said last week that it has “approved and validated” plans for an offensive in Lebanon, although any decision would come from the country’s political leaders.
Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that any Israeli military offensive into Lebanon would risk an Iranian response in defense of Hezbollah, triggering a broader war that could put American forces in the region in danger.
The U.S. military also has shifted other ships in the region. The Pentagon said the aircraft carrier Eisenhower, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is returning home after a deployment of more than eight months countering strikes from Yemen's Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea that the Navy says is its most intense mission since World War II. The San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt will take the Eisenhower’s place.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, listens as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, speaks during their meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The two, who have been in weekly contact since the Hamas attack on Israel in October, are expected to discuss Israeli operations in Gaza, humanitarian efforts in the region, and tension with Hezbollah in Lebanon. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
