Arizona Diamondbacks fans held their collective breath on Friday, May 12 after catcher Chris Iannetta took a 93-mile-per-hour fastball to the face and was sent to the hospital during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Chase Field.
Iannetta received treatment for a broken nose and and pair of broken teeth, as well as a split upper lip -- but on Monday, he told ABC15 that he could have played the next day if needed.
As it turned out, Iannetta missed just nine days of action -- and when he returned to the lineup Sunday at the San Diego Padres, he hit a home run on the very first pitch thrown to him since the frightening injury.
One swing off the DL and Chris Iannetta has his fourth home run of the season.
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— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) May 21, 2017
It was the fourth home run of the season for Iannetta, who also hit a homer earlier in the game vs. the Pirates before taking the pitch to the face.
Iannetta got a well-deserved hug from his manager after his third-inning shot that gave the D-backs their first hit of the game and a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, it was the D-backs' only run of the game, as the Padres went on to win 5-1, snapping Arizona's five-game winning streak.
The 34-year-old Iannetta signed a one-year contract with the D-backs before the season began. He owns a winery with former Angels teammate Vernon Wells.
