Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows was carted off the field Thursday after a violent collision with Riley Greene in left-center field. The play came on a fly ball hit by Minnesota's Josh Bell in the bottom of the eighth inning with the game tied 1-1.
Greene caught the ball and slammed into Meadows as both players converged. Meadows stayed down for several minutes before sitting up gingerly with athletic trainers around him, then got to his feet and was taken off the field on a golf cart.
The sight that followed said as much as the collision itself. Two EMS workers trailed the cart into the tunnel after Greene checked on Meadows, turning a routine out into the kind of moment that can change a game and a dugout in an instant.
The game was being played in Minneapolis, Minn., and the timing made the scene even heavier. With the score tied and the inning late, the Tigers were suddenly waiting to learn how badly one of their outfielders had been hurt, while the immediate next step was simply getting Meadows off the field and into medical care.