Red Sox stars Rafael Devers, Tyler O’Neill bang heads in scary, bloody collision
A pair of Red Sox players banged heads and were on the ground for several minutes after a scary collision on a popup Monday afternoon.
At the end of the top of the seventh inning of Boston’s Patriots Day loss to the Guardians, the back of third baseman Rafael Devers’ head hit the front of left fielder Tyler O’Neill’s head as the two converged on a popup by Guardians right fielder and ex-Yankee Estevan Florial.
O’Neill was bleeding from his forehead after the collision, and manager Alex Cora said after the game he needed eight stitches and went through concussion protocol.
Shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela was also running toward the ball but got out of the way before the collision.
Devers and O’Neill were in pain on the ground as the Fenway Park crowd went quiet, but the two eventually were able to walk off under their own power, with O’Neill covering the cut on his forehead.
O’Neill was removed from the game before the top of the eighth but Devers remained at third base.
Devers, the team’s biggest star, signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension last year.
The 27-year-old is off to a slow start, hitting .190 with a .701 OPS this season.
O’Neill, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Cardinals in December, began the day tied for the MLB lead in home runs with seven, the most in the American League.
The 28-year-old is hitting .313 with a 1.209 OPS this season.
The Red Sox lost 6-0 to fall to 9-8.
