The Atlanta Braves have a 15 game lead in the National League East and while winning the division should be an easy task, they will have to do it without Jason Heyward for quite some time, as he will be out for four to six weeks with a broken jaw after getting hit in the face with a pitch.
According to ESPN.com, Heyward was hit by a pitch from Jonathon Niese on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field and he will have surgery for the injury on Thursday. Heyward was struck in the face with a fastball in the sixth inning of the game, which the Braves went on to win 4-1 in 10 innings, and Heyward went straight down as the crowd watched the stunning play. Heyward could be in jeopardy of missing the rest of the regular season as well as the start of the playoffs, if not the postseason entirely.
The Braves have a 15-game lead in the division, so it's unlikely that the injury will affect that, but it could come back to bite the team down the line in the postseason. Heyward was able to walk off the field on his own after remaining on the ground for some time and he was replaced in the game by Jordan Schafer. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said that Heyward was able to speak to his teammates before leaving the stadium and that he never lost consciousness.
"He never lost consciousness," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Right before he went to the hospital he popped his head into the clubhouse to say goodbye to some of the guys. It's not the ballpark, it's just a matter of freak stuff happening. It can happen anywhere."
Niese said that he was shaken up after the play and to make matters worse, Heyward had family in the stands in New York on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com. Heyward had been playing very well this month while the Braves have padded their AL East lead, hitting .359 with four home runs and 10 RBIs and 17 runs in August. This season Heyward has 13 home runs and 37 RBIs with 19 doubles with a .254 batting average.
