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Baseball Notes: Vogelsong recovering after wild pitch

Pirates’ Ryan Vogelsong suffered multiple fractures after taking a fastball to the head. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
Associated Press
Pirates’ Ryan Vogelsong suffered multiple fractures after taking a fastball to the head. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong remained hospitalized with swelling and multiple facial fractures on Tuesday, a day after the veteran took a 92 mph fastball to the head from Colorado’s Jordan Lyles.

Pirates trainer Todd Tomczyk said Vogelsong was “in good spirits” but added that doctors would not be able to determine the extent of the damage around Vogelsong’s left eye until the swelling subsided.

Vogelsong was batting with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning Monday when a Lyles pitch caught Vogelsong flush. He remained on the ground for several minutes, though Tomczyk said Vogelsong did not lose consciousness and does not have symptoms of a concussion.

“He remembers everything,” Tomczyk said. “He did not lose consciousness, which is important. He was scared, yes … but he is a very positive guy.”

The 38-year-old Vogelsong did experience some vision loss in the immediate aftermath, but Tomczyk said Vogelsong’s eye was “somewhat open” by Tuesday. Doctors believe there is no significant damage to the eye itself, though it could be a while before there is any official diagnosis, Tomczyk said.

Gwynn’s family files lawsuit

Tony Gwynn’s widow and two children filed a lawsuit seeking to hold the tobacco industry accountable for the Hall of Famer’s death.

The suit was filed in San Diego Superior Court by Alicia Gwynn and her children, Tony Jr. and Anisha Gwynn-Jones.

The suit says Gwynn started dipping as a 17-year-old freshman ballplayer at San Diego State. He died of cancer of the right parotid salivary gland on June 16, 2014, at 54.

The lawsuit said Gwynn dipped in his lower right cheek for more than 30 years.

The court filing lists eight defendants, including Altria Group Corp. and US Smokeless Tobacco Co. LLC., and two people the suit says ran an intramural softball team called “Skoal Brothers” at San Diego State in the late 1970s. The “Skoal Brothers” provided free samples of smokeless tobacco products, the lawsuit said.

Altria spokesman Brian May said in an email that the company had no comment.

Rounding the bases

The Yankees sent Alex Rodriguez to Double-A Trenton for an injury rehabilitation assignment. Sidelined since straining his right hamstring on May 3, Rodriguez was scheduled to play for the Thunder on Tuesday night. … Red Sox reliever Carson Smith had season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, four days after an MRI revealed a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said before Boston’s game against Colorado that Smith will need 11 to 14 months to recover. … Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 28 games with a second-inning double Tuesday night against Colorado. It’s the longest hitting streak in the majors this season and tied with Wade Boggs (1985) for the fifth-longest in Red Sox history. Dom DiMaggio holds the franchise record with a 34-game streak in 1949. Joe DiMaggio, Dom’s brother, hit in 56 straight games in 1941 for the major league record.