Albert Pujols won’t soon forget one of his hits from Wednesday’s game with the A’s, and it’s not the Angels’ slugger’s two-run homer off Sonny Gray in the second inning.
Instead it’s the first-inning single Pujols lined directly at the face of A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. The ball came off Pujols’ bat at 109.61 mph according to Statcast, harder than any baseball ever thrown by Nolan Ryan … or anybody else.
It was headed directly at Semien’s head, and it was part quick reaction time and part luck that Semien wasn’t hit in the face.
“I swear I closed my eyes, because I thought that ball hit him in the head,’’ Pujols said after the game, recalling the scary moment.