Seattle Reliever Is Hit in Head by Ball

It was a sickening thud, a sound that could be heard throughout Safeco Field, one that made hearts sink toward stomachs and rendered a baseball game between the Angels and Seattle Mariners moot.

With one out in the eighth inning of the Mariners’ 6-4 victory Tuesday night, Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero hit a line drive off the right side of reliever Rafael Soriano’s head, the ball striking the Seattle right-hander with such force it caromed all the way to the third-base dugout.

“I didn’t see anything,” Mariners right fielder Chris Snelling said. “I just heard it and said, ‘Oh my God.’ ”

Soriano crumpled in front of the mound, where he lay for about 10 minutes, his teammates gathered around him and trainers from both clubs tending to him. A visibly shaken Guerrero trotted off the field and sat in the dugout, staring straight ahead, until Soriano was placed on a stretcher and carted off the field.

Soriano, who was hit behind the right ear, was transported to Harbor View Hospital, having never lost consciousness. A CT scan and X-ray showed no fractures, which Dr. Edward Khalfayan, Seattle’s team physician, called “encouraging,” and Soriano was diagnosed with a concussion.

“It’s a terrible thing to have happen,” Guerrero said in a statement read by a team spokesman. “As soon as I turned around and saw him on the ground, all I could do is pray for him and his family that everything is OK.”

Soriano was replaced by right-hander Sean Green, who gave up a single to Juan Rivera. Garret Anderson greeted left-hander George Sherrill with a run-scoring double to right, pulling the Angels to within 6-4 and putting the tying runs on second and third.

But Seattle closer J.J. Putz came on to strike out Robb Quinlan and retire Howie Kendrick on a fly to deep center to snuff out the rally and added a scoreless ninth for his 28th save, dropping the Angels 7 1/2 games behind Oakland in American League West, their biggest deficit of the season.

“The first couple of pitches after Rafael was hit, everyone was just kind of dazed,” Snelling said. “It was tough to re-focus. He’s your teammate, your friend. It makes baseball kind of trivial when that happens.”

Former Angels left-hander Jarrod Washburn, who gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings, got the win for the Mariners, but it was hardly a night to savor.

“No question, that’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Washburn said of Guerrero’s comebacker. “I hope I’ll never see anything like it again. We all know it’s part of the game, any time you throw a pitch, to any batter. This is the worst I’ve ever felt after a win.”

Angels rookie Jered Weaver, who was torched for two home runs and two doubles 12 pitches into Tuesday night’s start, took the loss, and he didn’t feel very good afterward, either.

“Obviously, it’s a pitcher’s worst nightmare,” Weaver said. “You never know what to expect when someone gets hit in the head. You never like to see that happen to somebody.”

Weaver, who allowed two more homers, gave up a season-high five runs and nine hits in a season-low 4 2/3 innings, extending his losing streak to two after winning his first nine decisions.

The Angels played sloppy defense, committing three errors, two by third baseman Maicer Izturis and one by shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who may have to sit out tonight’s game because of an injured index finger that is affecting his throwing.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Guerrero’s RBI single, but it became apparent -- immediately -- that Weaver, who gave up one earned run and eight hits in 14 innings of two previous starts against the Mariners, both victories, was not on.

Ichiro Suzuki led off the bottom of the first with a home run to right-center field, and Snelling followed with a home run to right. Adrian Beltre doubled off the top of the left-field wall, and Raul Ibanez smoked an RBI double to right-center for a 3-1 lead.

Weaver got out of the inning, but Ibanez, who has 104 RBIs on the season, drove a solo home run to right in the third inning, and Snelling added another solo homer to right in the fourth, giving Seattle a 5-1 lead.

Scioscia, pitching coach Bud Black and trainer Ned Bergert rushed to the mound after Weaver’s second-inning walk to Yuniesky Betancourt, but the prized rookie had not suffered an arm injury, just a cut on his thumb.