Pirates get encouraging update on Nick Gonzales after scary exit for pitch to helmet vs. Red Sox originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Friday night brought a much-needed win for the Pirates, taking down the Red Sox 8-4. But during the action, Pittsburgh's home fans watch took in a scary scene, with third baseman Nick Gonzales being hit in the helmet with a pitch.
In the fifth inning of Friday's matchup, Red Sox pitcher Jovani Moran threw a fastball that snuck up-and-in toward Gonzales' face, and the ball made contact with his helmet before it fell off and Gonzales bent over.
Fortunately for Gonzales and the Pirates, though, he appears to have avoided any significant injury.
The 94 mph fastball appeared to have only hit the helmet, rather than Gonzales' face, and while he left the game for precautionary reasons, he was able to walk around fine and shake it off.
Nick Gonzales is hit in the head by Jovani Moran with a 94.3 MPH 4-seam
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) August 15, 2026
Gonzales handled it like a psycho and laughed it off, but was removed from the game as a precaution. Really hope he avoided a concussion pic.twitter.com/zVu1Jrwd3g
The Pirates later said that Gonzales was being treated for a facial contusion and considered day-to-day, a positive outcome for what could've been much worse.
“Any time you get hit up in the head area, it’s always scary,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said, per TribLive. “Not something that you really want to mess with.”
Jacob Gonzalez replaced Gonzales in Friday's game, with the 27-year-old third baseman likely to be sidelined until the team feels he's cleared of any head injuries. But anything significant was avoided for Gonzales, who leads the Pirates with his .307 batting average this season.