Kyle Farmer, one of the most indispensable players on the Cincinnati Reds’ roster, exited Saturday’s 4-1 loss against Atlanta after he was hit by a 100-mph fastball on his left hand in the fifth inning.
Farmer was in obvious pain after he was hit on the fourth pitch of his second at-bat versus Atlanta rookie Spencer Strider, who had yet to give up a hit. He's previously broken the bone at the bottom of his wrist, and that was his first thought as he lay on the ground.
Fortunately, Farmer avoided the worst-case scenario. X-rays were negative for a fracture.
"I've broken it many times and I know that feeling," Farmer said. "I thought it was broken. I was pretty pissed, but thank God it's not broken."
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Farmer shouted in pain as he stood up. When he walked to first base alongside trainer Tomas Vera and manager David Bell, he grimaced as he took off his left batting glove. After reaching first base, it was a short conversation before Farmer returned to the dugout and was removed for Matt Reynolds.
When Farmer spoke to reporters afterward, he said he felt a tight and sharp pain in his hand, but he hoped he wouldn't miss more than a couple of games.
"It wasn't intentional, I know, but anyone who throws 100 mph, it doesn't give you much time to get out of the way," Farmer said. "When you throw 100 mph, 101, 102, and you hit somebody, it's pretty devastating."
The news that Farmer didn't break his hand was a relief to his teammates and coaches. They all feared the worst.
"It hit him pretty flush, so you’re holding your breath and just hoping and praying it’s going to be fine," Nick Senzel said. "He’s our guy at short and we want him there every day. You never want to see that happen, but I don’t think it was intentional at all. I was just happy to see he was OK."
Bell remained on the field to chat with home-plate umpire Tripp Gibson. After a prolonged conversation, which looked relatively calm, Gibson ejected Bell.
The ejection infuriated Bell, who yelled at Gibson as crew chief Laz Diaz tried to separate the manager and umpire. Bell’s animated argument lasted more than a minute as he tried to circle around home plate to continue his discussion with Gibson.
“Definitely nothing against the pitcher," Bell said. "He was trying to make pitches. I was pointing out that giving a few pitches earlier in the game off the outside of the plate kind of forces our hitters to dive out there. That’s all I said.
"It’s a rule, you can’t argue balls and strikes. I haven’t said a word from the dugout all year. It would be good to have a little bit more leeway than that, but it is a rule that you can’t argue balls and strikes.”
After Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides tried to pull Bell away from arguing with Gibson, Bell momentarily walked toward the dugout before continuing his argument with Diaz.
It was the second time Bell was ejected this season and the 18th time in his four-year managerial career.
The Reds lost their fourth straight game Saturday and they've lost 10 consecutive home games. Did any of the frustration build up toward Bell's ejection?
"Absolutely not, that had nothing to do with any sort of frustration about losing games; completely separate,” Bell said. "There’s plenty of frustration – staff, players, myself. I know our players are doing absolutely everything in their power to turn this around. Our staff is doing the same. So I’m looking long and hard at what I need to do to help turn this around and get it going in the right direction. That’s really our only focus."
Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall was hit by a 92-mph fastball on his left hand in the second inning by Reds starter Tyler Mahle. Duvall remained in the game as a baserunner, picked off from first with the bases loaded, but he didn't return for the third inning.
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