He Can Bragg About Surviving Hit

Red Sox outfielder Darren Bragg had a welt and 22 stitches over his right eye Saturday, courtesy of the Allen Watson fastball that hit him flush on the forehead in the sixth inning of Friday night’s game against the Angels.

And for that, he was thankful.

“An inch lower and it would have hit me in the eye socket and I would have been done,” Bragg said. “People ask me if I’m going to be afraid the next time I step in the box, but I won’t be at all. I feel like I took somebody’s best shot and walked away from it.”

The beaning came almost 30 years to the day that another Angel pitcher, Jack Hamilton, hit another Red Sox player, Tony Conigliaro, in the left eye with a pitch, on Aug. 18, 1967, in Fenway Park.

Conigliaro, the youngest player to lead the major leagues in homers with 32 in 1965, sat out the entire 1968 season and made a dramatic comeback in 1969, hitting 56 homers and knocking in 198 runs in two years, but his performance tailed off rapidly after that.

Conigliaro, who retired in 1975, suffered a massive heart attack in 1983 and was in a coma for about eight years before he died Feb. 24, 1990.

The prognosis for Bragg is much better. X-rays revealed no broken bones, no concussion. His only problem in the next week or two might be looking in the mirror.

“I won’t be looking very pretty for a while,” Bragg said. “I told the doctor I was glad I’m already married.”

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The Angels added some depth to their thinned-out catching corps Saturday, trading double-A outfielder Aaron Guiel to the San Diego Padres for triple-A catcher Angelo Encarnacion, who will be recalled Sept. 1.

Encarnacion, 24, hit .245 with three homers and 23 RBIs for triple-A Las Vegas this season. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound defensive specialist played 65 games with Pittsburgh in 1995 and ‘96, batting .238 with two homers and 11 RBIs.

Guiel, 24, was having a superb season at Midland, hitting .329 with 91 runs, 37 doubles, 22 homers and 85 RBIs, but with a glut of talented outfielders, the Angels felt they could part with him.

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Reserve outfielder Orlando Palmeiro has had back spasms for a week, but with the Angels needing pitching and Rickey Henderson and Tony Phillips available to play outfield, they put Palmeiro on the 15-day disabled list Saturday and recalled left-hander Greg Cadaret from triple-A Vancouver.

“I didn’t have [left-handers] Darrell May or Mike Holtz available [Saturday], so we needed help in the bullpen,” Manager Terry Collins said. “These games are very important, and Boston has one of the best offensive teams in baseball. I wanted to make sure I had enough pitching.”

Cadaret pitched the ninth inning Saturday, hitting Reggie Jefferson with a pitch, getting Wil Cordero to hit into a double play and Troy O’Leary on a groundout.

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Chuck Finley, who sprained his left wrist Tuesday night, was unable to throw Saturday and will try again today. Collins was hoping to start him Tuesday against Cleveland, but it appears Dennis Springer will start that night against the Indians. . . . Gary DiSarcina’s RBI single in the eighth inning Saturday gave him his first RBI since Aug. 8 against Baltimore. DiSarcina also helped the Angels turn three double plays.

TODAY’S GAME

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (6-10, 5.61 ERA) vs. RED SOX’S TIM WAKEFIELD (8-14, 4.48 ERA)

Anaheim Stadium, 1 p.m.

Radio--KTZN (710).

* Update--Mark Langston’s rocky start against the New York Yankees on Wednesday night and the subsequent decision to put Langston on the disabled list may have spared Hill a demotion to the bullpen. The right-hander, acquired from Texas for catcher Jim Leyritz on July 29, is 1-2 with a 7.33 earned-run average in five Angel starts and needs to rebound with a solid effort to solidify his place in the rotation. The Angels have enjoyed watching Dennis Springer baffle opponents with his knuckleball in recent weeks, but they’ll be on the other end today trying to swat Wakefield’s floaters. The Angels have lost six of their last nine games but have bounced back from a 1-6 stretch against the Orioles and Yankees with two wins over the Red Sox.