Blue Jays’ House released after overnight hospitalization

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays reliever T.J. House has been released from a hospital, one day after he was hit on the head by a line drive during a spring training game.

House arrived at Toronto’s spring training ballpark during Saturday’s game between the Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.

“Obviously, it was definitely a rough day yesterday,” House said. “Whirlwind experience. And I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would be doing today.”

House was taken off the field in an ambulance Friday. He was struck in the ninth inning of a game against the Detroit Tigers and taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Test results were normal and he was held overnight for observation, according to the Blue Jays.

“No fractures of the skull or anything, which is great, especially for the force it took,” House said.

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Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said “there was blood on his face, blood in the glove — everything.” He described it as among the most frightening things he has seen in a baseball game.

House was hit on the back of the head by a ball off the bat of John Hicks. The ball ricocheted about 30 feet into the air before being caught by catcher Mike Ohlman.

House fell to his stomach and was face down on the mound for nearly 20 minutes while being tended to by trainers. House was put onto a stretcher and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd as he was placed into an ambulance.

“I was just asking them when (the ambulance) was going to be here,” House said. “Could I please just get off the field? I just want to get out of here. That was the worst part, and not knowing what was going to happen to me. There are so many thoughts going through your mind. You just want to be OK and get out of there and be healthy.”

House will proceed cautiously for a few days.

“Then we’re going to go from there,” House said. “They have some tests I need to do. Concussion protocol tests, make sure everything’s normal. And that’s going to be progress day by day. We’re going to go as far as my body can take it.”

House’s mother was listening to game in Mississippi.

“She was like, ‘I almost had a heart attack,” House said. “I was on the field and I was making sure, ‘Please, can you text her or call her right now.’ While I was laying there, I heard them talking to her. They were like, ‘He’s awake right now. Nothing too serious. We’re going to go to the hospital and we’ll keep you updated.”

Toronto pitcher J.A Happ was struck by a liner off the bat of Tampa Bay’s Desmond Jennings on May 7, 2013. The left-hander was hospitalized overnight and released the following day.

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Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who injured his right calf while running sprints Feb. 17, should make his spring training debut next week.

Donaldson hit and took part in defensive drills with the team Saturday and said he is running at 40-to-50 per cent.

“It’s tough for me, I want to be out there with the guys,” Donaldson said. “But, obviously, you’ve got look to at the bigger picture. It’s a 162-game season.”

The 2015 AL MVP batted .284 with 37 home runs and 99 RBIs last season. He was an All-Star for a third straight season and helped lead Toronto to the AL Championship Series.

Mark Didtler, The Associated Press