The Cincinnati Reds designated first baseman Dominic Smith for assignment on Monday and recalled outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville. Smith, who was signed by the Reds on Aug. 22, two days after he was released by the Boston Red Sox, was 5-for-26 (.192) in nine games for Cincinnati. The 29-year-old batted .233 with six home runs and 34 RBIs in 93 games with the Red Sox and Reds this season. In eight major league seasons, Smith is a career .246 hitter with 64 home runs and 259 RBIs in 693 games for four clubs, including six seasons with the New York Mets (2017-22). Dunn, 25, made his major league debut on June 4 and went 1-for-18 (.056) in 12 games for Cincinnati. He hit 23 minor league home runs last season and had seven homers with 34 RBIs in 99 games at Louisville this season. –Field Level Media
It takes less than a second, but there can’t be many experiences that are more terrifying for a baseball player than seeing a pitch beaming towards the head at triple-digit speeds. There’s no time to get out of the way, and the only hope is that the helmet stands up to the pitch.
Reds outfielder Blake Dunn went through all of that on Tuesday night. And thankfully, his helmet did indeed do its job.
Facing the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning, Dunn took a 101.4 mph fastball off the head. Though there was no avoiding the pitch, Dunn managed to turn enough to ensure that the helmet took the brunt of that pitch.
Holy crap.
And, somehow Dunn stayed in the game. pic.twitter.com/XXoxYRe7K8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 12, 2024
Dunn clearly wasn’t pleased to get hit up high like that as it could have been a horrific moment. But Dunn was fine and walked to first base calmly while giving Clase somewhat of a staredown. He remained in the game as the Reds lost, 5-3.
Leave a Reply