WATCH: Astros’ Colton Gordon gets drilled in head by comebacker in scary faceoff vs. Guardians

The Houston Astros' series opener against the Cleveland Guardians witnessed a scary moment at Daikin Park on Monday when Astros ace Colton Gordon was caught in the firing line on the mound.

During the fifth inning of the game, Guardians' Steven Kwan struck Gordon's sinker in the direction of the pitcher. Gordon was unable to react to the comebacker as he failed to raise his glove in time with the ball hitting him on his head.

Colton Gordon fell to the ground immediately after taking the hit. However, he got up to his feet after doing a push up on the mound and remained in the game after being checked by his teammates and trainers.

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However, his decision to stay in the game proved costly for the Astros, as Guardians star Jose Ramirez smoked Gordon for a three-run home run later in the same inning.

While the rookie pitcher remained in the game despite taking a hit on the head, Astros manager Joe Espada pulled him from the mound in the sixth. He ended the night conceding five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Astros manager Joe Espada addressed "scary" Colton Gordon incident after Guardians loss

A shaky outing from Colton Gordon allowed the Cleveland Guardians to snatch a 7-5 win to end the Astros' three game winning streak. Following the loss in the series opener, Espada addressed the scary incident involving Gordon,. revealing that the ball took a bit of glove before hitting him on the head.

“The ball got glove first and then hit him in the head, so he’s being evaluated for a concussion,” Espada said. “It was scary. Thank God, he got the glove up in time.”

The starting pitcher will be evaluated for concussion as the Astros will aim to bounce back against the Guardians, who ended their 10-game losing streak with Monday's win.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash