Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson escaped serious injury after being struck in the head by a line drive on Thursday night. Hospital tests revealed nothing more than a contusion, although he was kept overnight for observation.
The liner was off the bat of St. Louis outfielder Tommy Pham and was measured at 108 mph before hitting Nelson and caroming off into foul territory beyond third base.
Nelson went down hard and was face down and motionless for a few moments. After being looked at by the teams trainers, Nelson eventually rose to his knees and then got up and walked off to a huge ovation from the Miller Park crowd.
Reliever David Goforth took over and pitched four innings, but the Brewers were no match for the Cardinals again.
The Brewers fell 6-3 in what turned out to be their sixth straight defeat. The Cardinals are 11-4 against the Brewers this season with four more games remaining at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals now have a 28-10 record in their last 38 games at Miller Park. The Brewers are now 23-52 in their last 75 games against the Cardinals.
The Brewers only runs came in the ninth when Jean Segura clubbed a three-run home run.
The Brewers will open a three-game weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds at Miller Park tonight. RHP Zach Davies (1-1, 6.60 E-R-A) pitches for the Brewers. Cincinnati goes with RHP Brandon Finnegan (3-0, 2.67 E-R-A).