Houston Astros center fielder Brice Matthews was removed from Sunday’s contest against the Texas Rangers in the second inning after sustaining a left knee injury when he collided with the outfield wall.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the first inning as Matthews sprinted toward the wall in an attempt to haul in a fly ball off the bat of Josh Jung. He crashed hard into the barrier, and the ball fell loose from his glove on impact, allowing Jung to advance all the way to third base for a triple.
Matthews was able to stay in the game through the end of the inning after receiving attention from a Houston trainer on the field. However, when his spot in the batting order arrived with two outs in the second inning, manager Joe Espada chose to send Taylor Trammell to the plate as a pinch-hitter rather than let Matthews continue.
The 24-year-old outfielder has appeared in 81 games this season, putting up a .197 batting average along with seven home runs and four stolen bases.
