CLEVELAND (AP) — Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has been scratched from the lineup, and is
undergoing tests on the head and neck injuries he sustained Monday.
Brantley was injured trying to break up a double play sliding into second base in the third inning. He
remained in the game, but was removed an inning later.
Brantley, who passed a concussion test Monday, was in Tuesday’s original lineup, but was pulled after
feeling some discomfort during his pregame activities. Indians manager Terry Francona said Brantley had
a stiff neck and would have further tests, which are taking place at the Cleveland Clinic.
“He came in today feeling really good and started to ramp up his daily progression and didn’t feel
perfect,” said Francona, who had two lineups prepared. “He felt a little pressure as he was starting to
ramp up some activity. We immediately took him out of the lineup.”
Brantley is batting .323 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs in 69 games.
“If a guy has a bad hamstring and he plays and he pulls it, it’s not good, (but) you have a head injury
and you play and something happens, you’re talking about something serious,” Francona said. “If we’re
going to err, we’re going to err on the side of caution.”
Brantley, the AL Player of the Week, is having an outstanding season. He is on an eight-game hitting
streak, in which he’s batting .536 (15 for 28) and he’s hitting .377 since May 14. Brantley is second in
the majors with eight outfield assists.