Jose Miranda needed to exist Sunday's game in Detroit after the Minnesota Twins third baseman was struck in the side of the head by a pitch.
It happened in the top of the first inning, when an Alex Faedo fastball came high and inside, hitting Miranda in the side of his helmet and sending him to the dirt. Miranda stayed down for a considerable amount of time, with the Twins training staff attending to him, but he was eventually able to get up and walk back to the clubhouse under his own power.
That was the first positive sign in what was an otherwise terrifying situation. The other bit of good news came later when the team announced that things weren't nearly as bad as they initially seemed.
Twins got surprisingly positive Jose Miranda injury update after he was hit in the head by a pitch
Not long after Miranda left the game, the Twins gave a surprisingly positive update on his status. Not only was a serious injury was avoided, but Miranda passed a concussion test despite taking a fastball off his chin flap.
#MNTwins have announced a head contusion for Jose Miranda. They say that he has passed the preliminary concussion testing.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) July 28, 2024
This was just Miranda's second game back after being activated from the IL, and another stint might have been avoided based on the early results of his tests.
Miranda will still undergo some tests and he'll need to be checked again for a concussion but so far this is turning out far better than anyone expected given how things looked at the time. It's not only a best case scenario for his health, but for the Twins lineup as well.
He was on a historic heater at the plate, reaching base in 12 straight at-bats and providing the exact sort of pop in Minnesota's offense that they've been needing. Miranda combined with Carlos Correa to power the lineup, and the rise of Brooks Lee and return of Royce Lewis all coincided to create one of the best lineups over the last three months.
Getting Miranda's bat back was huge, and it sounds like it won't be long before it once again returns for Minnesota.
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