Jared Young Was Stretchered Off After A Teammate's Knee Hit Him In The Head

Jared Young lay motionless on the Citi Field infield Thursday night as both teams watched in silence and Francisco Alvarez appeared to be praying. Then the Mets first baseman gave a thumbs-up, and the ballpark breathed again.

The play happened in the sixth inning of the Mets' 3-0 loss to the Phillies. Justin Crawford rolled a slow grounder up the first base line and both Young and starting pitcher Nolan McLean converged on it.

There was a moment of confusion, McLean paused, Young reached for the ball, McLean kept running, and then McLean's knee struck Young full speed in the head. Young went face-down into the dirt and did not move.

The medical cart came out. The trainers stabilized his neck. He was carted off with his head immobilized and taken to a hospital.

Manager Andy Green later reported that Young's CT scan was negative and he has full use of his extremities, but is experiencing real concussion symptoms. "It was a terrifying moment on a baseball field," Green said. "Took him a while to come to."

McLean was shaken but finished the inning before being pulled. Green admitted he probably should not have let him face another hitter.

"The humanity hit him pretty hard," Green said. Young, 31, was batting .266 with nine home runs in 103 games, a genuine first-full-season breakout. With nine games left in the Mets' schedule his season may be over.