Umpire struck in head with throw, leaves game; Yankees top Guardians

CLEVELAND — The Guardians game against the New York Yankees was momentarily stopped in the sixth inning Wednesday afternoon when a scary moment involving second base umpire and crew chief Larry Vanover forced his exit from the game.

A relay throw from Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, which was headed for home plate, struck Vanover in the side of the head, knocking his hat off. Vanover was on the ground for a few moments and later walked off the field with a member of the Guardians medical staff.

Gimenez was visibly upset after the play. Two runs scored on the play, which went down as a single for Kyle Higashioka and an error on Gimenez.

Vanover is expected to be hospitalized over night, according to multiple reports.

The Guardians went on to lose 4-3 to the Yankees to drop the series two games to one.

The Yankees tied the score on Franchy Cordero's home run in the seventh inning. In the ninth, Oswaldo Cabrera singled to score Gleyber Torres, who had reached on an error by shortstop Amed Rosario, as the Yankees took the lead against Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.

The Guardians loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, which brought up Rosario to face Clay Holmes with a chance to atone for his miscue. Holmes struck out Rosario to end the game.

Guardians starting pitcher Peyton Battenfield, who made his major league debut Wednesday, held the Yankees to two runs in 4⅔ innings with three strikeouts. Through the first four innings, he had allowed just one hit.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected in the first inning after an RBI single by Josh Naylor on which he was originally called out, but replays showed the ball hit the ground for a hit.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.