The Milwaukee Brewers fell to the San Francisco Giants, 15-1, in an ugly game they would soon rather forget about, but it wasn’t hard to see why their minds may not have been completely focused on the action between the white lines at American Family Field on Friday night.
The Brewers were playing with their attention naturally diverted for nearly the entirety of the game after shortstop Willy Adames was struck in the head by a foul ball while on the top step of the dugout in the second inning.
As manager Craig Counsell put it, “You’re concerned.”
Adames, the heartbeat of the Brewers who has been voted the team MVP in each of his two seasons with the team, left the stadium and was taken to the hospital for further imaging and testing after Brian Anderson’s foul ball of a pitch from Giants pitcher Alex Wood went directly towards the first-base dugout and hit Adames directly.
“Initially from the sound it made, I thought it hit the cushioned pad,” said Brewers infielder Mike Brosseau, on deck at the time. “The way they reacted to it, you’re getting scared, and then after a couple of seconds of them being on the bench I realized it was a little more serious than that. I heard it more than I saw it.”
Imaging done after Adames was taken to the hospital showed no fractures.
Adames will be kept at the hospital overnight and likely released Saturday morning. He will require an injured list stint with a concussion, but all things considered, Counsel noted, the news could have been much worse.
“He was alert and responsive as he left, and then we got pretty good news at the hospital, too,” Counsell said. “Obviously he’s in pain. But I think overall I think not bad news considering how scary it was.”
The Brewers played out of sorts afterwards – and understandably so.
“It’s definitely a factor. I’ve always said it: Willy is the catalyst for this team,” Brosseau said. “What he brings to this team, what he means to this team, to see him go down like that and really not have anybody know the severity of it, it’s pretty scary, pretty frightening.”
Peralta, one of Adames’ best friends and locker neighbor in the clubhouse, had to take the mound just minutes after Adames was struck. He gave up seven runs in the ensuing inning, although only two of them were earned after the Brewers – who were discombobulated on the whole – combined to commit errors on three separate ground balls.
“It affected everybody for sure, certainly Freddy as the guy having to go out there and pitch, and as close as they are, as much as anybody,” Counsell said. “It just wasn’t a good night.”
Freddy Peralta plans to visit Willy Peralta
JD Davis and Mitch Haniger each drove in runs with a double in the inning, then three batters after Peralta would have been out of the inning had it not been for the errors, Giants second baseman Brett Wisely launched a three-run home run to blow the game opened, 10-1.
“It was really hard for me because of some feelings inside me and all that,” Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta said. “I knew that I had a game and had to come back to the mound. But I had it in my mind. It was hard for me.”
San Francisco would proceed to tack on five runs against reliever Ethan Small, who was making his season debut with Milwaukee.
The Brewers opened the game by loading the bases with nobody out against Wood but scored just once on a double play grounder by Christian Yelich.
Peralta said he planned to try and visit Adames Friday night after leaving the stadium.
We’ve known each for years,” Peralta said. “We’ve been together, friends together – close friends together – for like seven, eight years. It’s hard to see somebody that you love having that moment.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Willy Adames struck in head by foul ball in Brewers’ loss to Giants