White Sox rookie Moncada, Willy Garcia dodge serious injuries after scary collision
At first glance, it was an awful sight.
“It was a very scary moment for me,” first baseman Jose Abreu said. “I didn't know who to assist at the moment because that was a very bad collision.”
“I thought they were both out, is what it looked like to me,” manager Rick Renteria said. “Neither of them were moving.”
“I got knocked out right away,” Willy Garcia said. “I didn't remember what happened until the doctors started asking me questions here (clubhouse), and then I saw the video.”
The video was hard to watch, and it showed Toronto's Darwin Barney hitting a flyball to short right field with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning Monday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Prized Sox prospect Yoan Moncada charged out from second base and Garcia sprinted in from right.
As Garcia dropped to the ground and appeared to make the catch, Moncada tried to avoid contact but ended up kneeing his teammate on the right side of the head.
Garcia was knocked out by the blow, and Moncada also wound up on the outfield grass clutching his right knee.
As White Sox trainer Herm Schneider and Blue Jays counterparts George Poulis and Mike Frostad tended to the fallen players, a cart arrived and Abreu helped board Moncada, who was unable to put any weight on his right leg.
Initially, it looked really bad. But the news was as good as can be expected.
X-rays on Moncada were negative, and the 22-year-old rookie is day to day with a right-knee contusion.
Garcia, who somehow managed to get to his feet and walk off the field, suffered a head contusion. He will be evaluated again Tuesday morning for concussion symptoms.
“Both of them are actually alert and doing well,” Renteria said. “We'll continue to re-evaluate and see how it looks tomorrow. As we get the evaluations, we'll know exactly where we might sit.”
The White Sox were not looking good on the scoreboard after the collision. Garcia almost caught Barney's flyball, but it rolled out of his glove and went for a 3-run double.
That put the Blue Jays in front 6-0. The Sox then stormed back, Matt Davidson eventually coming through with his second straight walk-off hit in a 7-6 victory.
After hitting a 2-run homer to drop Cleveland 3-1 on Sunday, Davidson delivered an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to defeat Toronto.
“It's a lot of fun winning,” Davidson said. “We're enjoying it, and it's good to get everybody with smiles on their face. When you lose every day, it might not be the most fun to come to the field every day. There's a little more momentum, everybody's a little more relaxed and it makes it easier to get your work done every single day and get excited for the game.”