Red Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez was hit by a pitch from Yankees starter Sonny Gray in the first inning Thursday night. Ramirez took a fastball to the right wrist and looked in a great deal of pain. He was forced to leave the game. Here's the pitch:
Hanley Ramirez leaves the game after being hit by a Sonny Gray pitch. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/yAPkKv91NI
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 12, 2018
I was watching the Red Sox broadcast and their announcers pointed out that there's no way the pitch from Gray was intentional. I 100 percent agree. It ran just inside enough to get Ramirez's wrist, not his ribcage. Gray was visibly angry with himself on the mound and it also gave the Red Sox two men on base for J.D. Martinez in the first inning. Since that pitch, Gray has been all over the place with his command, too.
Still, many will view this as a Yankees retaliation for everything that went down on Wednesday night. Both benches were warned, which was the right move by the umpiring crew.
More important matters here revolve around the extent of the Ramirez injury. The Red Sox have announced that it's a wrist contusion and X-rays were negative, but haven't given an answer as to if Ramirez will miss any time. The Red Sox are already down Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia among their regulars.
Plus, Ramirez is off to a hot start to the season. He's hitting .357/.417/.548 with two doubles, two homers and 12 RBI in just 11 games.
Consider the situation developing, both when it comes to Ramirez missing any games and if there are more batters hit with pitches in Fenway Park Thursday.
