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ST. PETERSBURG — After a wild pitch from Ian Seymour in the seventh inning, Zach Neto slid feet-first into home plate and appeared to suffer an injury after a collision near the plate in the Angels’ 14-3 win on Saturday.
After being evaluated, Neto was able to walk off the field under his own power. Nick Madrigal entered the game and took over at second base while Oswald Peraza shifted from second to shortstop. Madrigal was later hit by a pitch in the ninth and exited the game.
Neto stayed down for several minutes as members of the club’s training staff attended to him, along with manager Kurt Suzuki. Neto told reporters after the game that he was feeling relatively well.
“I feel good, a little sore, a little tired right now,” Neto said. “I was just trying to score a run, and I did. I knew it was going to be a rough impact at the plate, but I was just making sure I was there safe. I’ll deal with the consequences after, but thankfully, nothing was bad.”
Neto said he got a little whiplash on the play, and the Angels will wait until Sunday morning to evaluate how the shortstop is progressing to decide if he will play in the series finale.
“For right now, I feel confident that I’ll be in there tomorrow,” Neto said.
After the pitch got away, Rays catcher Nick Fortes retrieved the ball and threw to Seymour, who was charging toward home and collided with Neto. The Angels’ shortstop remained on the ground near the plate holding the back of his neck after being called safe.
“I just tried to put a tag down,” Seymour said. “I sort of [jumped] over him, and I guess my buttcheek hit him in the back. Looking back at it, there’s certainly no, like, [bad] intention there. He’s a great player, and I hope he’s OK.”
Neto had drawn a walk earlier in the inning and advanced to second on a Mike Trout walk. He later stole third with two outs before scampering home on the wild pitch.
In the ninth, Madrigal immediately went to the dugout after a sinker from Andrew Wantz ricocheted off his wrist and struck him in the face on an 0-2 pitch. He left while holding a towel to his face, with Adam Frazier entering as a pinch-runner.
Suzuki shared the same sentiment that both of his players will be fine.
“Neto is good, just a whiplash on that play, pretty good collision over there at home, and Madrigal cut his lip open, but seems like he’ll be fine,” Suzuki said.
Madrigal appeared to be in good condition after the game and briefly told reporters he was “all good” while leaving the clubhouse.
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