White Sox’ Andrew Vaughn Expects to Play After HBP in the Face

The eighth inning of Friday night’s game between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians brought about a scary moment. Sox’ right fielder Andrew Vaughn was hit by a 96 MPH fastball that glanced off his arm and struck his face. The second-year slugger somehow escaped with only a bloody lip and remained in the game for the time being.

“I mean it’s definitely scary getting a ball at your head, but thank God it hit my shoulder first,” Vaughn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “Felt like I was fine. Don’t feel any symptoms or anything, just blood. I feel fine, honestly. If it didn’t hit the shoulder, we wouldn’t be talking right now. I feel lucky.”

Vaughn’s self-described status is a positive development for the South Siders, who saw Eloy Jimenez exit with a knee injury after a big hack on the very next pitch.

With Tim Anderson out for the next month-plus, Luis Robert’s absence from the lineup going on a week, and the latest blow to Jimenez, the White Sox can’t afford to lose any more mainstays.

Whether Andrew Vaughn will play Saturday remains to be seen. But the 24-year-old said he’s ready to go despite what the damage may look like.

“Heck yeah. Might not look so good, but we’ll be out there.”

Trailing the first-place Guardians by 3.5 games, the Chicago White Sox need a huge bounce-back effort in the second game of the weekend series. Johnny Cueto will take the mound against Cleveland ace Shane Bieber with first pitch scheduled for 5:10 PM CT.