PITTSBURGH -- Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon was struck in the head by a line drive Tuesday night against the Brewers, but went on to pitch six innings in a 3-2 Pittsburgh win.
With one out in the second inning, Milwaukee's Hernan Perez sent a shot right back to Taillon that hit the 24-year-old in the back of the head and rolled out into left field. Taillon remained on the ground for several minutes while being tended to by medical staff before being cleared to stay in the game.
"I saw it coming at me, turned from it and remember going down," Taillon said. "I could feel it on my head a little bit, but I remained conscious. I saw where the play went. I answered all the questions they asked me. I wanted to get up quicker than I was able to. I remember it pretty clearly."
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle admitted his thoughts went to Taillon's parents watching on television but decided to trust the recommendation of the medical staff that Taillon was OK to continue.
"This is one area that I'm not really comfortable with," he said. "I have to trust our people. They do know what they're doing, how to follow protocol to test the player and the things to do."
The near miss hardly seemed to faze Taillon, who allowed one run and five hits -- while striking out three without a walk -- before being removed after throwing 65 pitches in his first start since being placed on the disabled list on June 28 with right-shoulder fatigue.
"I felt like I dealt with it pretty well," Taillon said. "I definitely had some adrenaline after. I thought some of my pitches were up afterwards. It's tough to control the emotions right after that. I was able to keep the team in the game."
He later tweeted that he was going to bed "feeling extremely lucky."
Not exactly how I imagined today going when I got out of bed. But going to bed feeling extremely lucky. Thanks to everyone who reached out
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) July 20, 2016
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.