A Triple-A showdown between Mets and Blue Jays affiliates on Friday night took a scary turn when Buffalo catcher Payton Henry took a swing to the head.
The host Syracuse Mets were batting at the bottom of the seventh inning when the terrifying incident silenced the crowd at NBT Bank Stadium.
Third baseman Pablo Reyes took a big cut, and his backswing clipped the Bisons catcher on the left side of his head. Henry immediately went down, facing upwards as he was quickly aided to.
Bisons trainer Casey Candaele was the first to help – he then signaled to get the medical staff into the diamond.
Meanwhile, Henry’s teammates waited on the infield and looked concerned as they took one knee.
Buffalo Bisons catcher Payton Henry got clipped with a swing on his head against Syracuse
The team later shared that Henry was ‘alert and responsive’ after getting carted off the field
Shortly after, Henry got carted off the field. Moments later, the game concluded after seven innings – as decided by umpires and league officials.
After getting into a conference with officials, Syracuse general manager Jason Smorol took the microphone to address the crowd about the shortened game.
‘Just got word from the umpires and league, the game is going to be canceled at this point, it is a complete game,’ Smorol said. ‘We’ll end at this point, and our thoughts and prayers are going to go out to Payton Henry as he is en route to the hospital right now.’
Henry is in his first year with the Blue Jays organization and is hitting .244 with three home runs and a .704 OPS this year. He was 0-3 against the Mets before the accident.
The Bisons later shared that Henry is ‘alert and responsive’ after getting aided at a local hospital in Central New York.
‘Payton Henry has been taken to a Syracuse area hospital where he is being evaluated. Payton is currently alert and appropriately responsive. We will share any further information as it becomes available.’
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