The Nationals’ Jackson Rutledge got beaned in the head by his own catcher’s throw and was thankfully OK

It wasn’t the best of debuts for Washington Nationals 2019 first-round pick Jackson Rutledge.

He gave up seven runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 3.2 innings, and on top of that, he got hit in the head with a ball thrown by his own catcher.

In the fourth inning, fellow rookie Drew Millas took a Rutledge pitch and had to throw to second with Ji Hwan Bae trying to swipe a bag. But Millas threw it … right into Rutledge’s head.

Rutledge was OK, thank goodness. That could have been so much worse.

Here’s the play, which had everyone immediately — and rightfully — worried:

There are a couple adjectives you can use to describe Jackson Rutledge's debut. "Uneventful" isn't one of them…for the wrong reasons. pic.twitter.com/qcvnHRc1CG

— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 13, 2023

Ow… On his MLB Debut too…

Luckily Rutledge was alright and stayed in the game pic.twitter.com/aILzAyvXLH

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 13, 2023