Orioles catcher James McCann hit in face with pitch, plays eight innings with bloodied nose, swollen eye

Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann showed some serious toughness Monday afternoon. In the bottom of the first inning, McCann took a 94.6 mph fastball to the face from Toronto Blue Jays righty Yariel Rodríguez and was immediately bloodied, yet he remained in the game and caught all nine innings.

"He is incredibly, incredibly tough," O's manager Brandon Hyde said after the game ( via MASN Sports ). "Catches eight more innings after that. He doesn't have a head or eye trauma or injury. We're suspecting it's a broken nose. He's going to get a CT scan tomorrow. All signs right now are we dodged a major bullet."

Trainer Brian Ebel was eventually able to stop the bleeding after a lengthy delay. McCann changed his blood-soaked jersey, then took his base to loud cheers from what was a sparse crowd at Camden Yards for the first game of a doubleheader ( BAL 11, TOR 5 ). His eye was swollen later in the game.

Here is the hit-by-pitch:

The Orioles have two catchers on the roster -- McCann and franchise cornerstone Adley Rutschman -- and McCann leaving the first game in the first inning would have forced Rutschman to catch almost two full games. Either that, or the O's would have had to call up a third catcher, which might have been impossible on such short notice.

McCann's toughness was appreciated by Orioles righty Tyler Wells , who is currently rehabbing from season-ending elbow surgery.

This is the second time in a month an Orioles player was hit in the head with a pitch. On July 12, outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit in the head by a pitch from New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes . Kjerstad was placed on the concussion list and missed eight days .

McCann, 34, went 1 for 3 with the hit-by-pitch in Monday's game. He's hitting .218/.273/.324 as Ruthschman's veteran backup. McCann is in the final year of the four-year, $40.6 million contract he signed with the New York Mets in December 2020. The Mets are paying the majority of his salary.

The win in the first game of Monday's doubleheader improved the O's to 63-43. They are 1 1/2 games up in the AL East.