Mariners' Haniger takes fastball to face

Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger suffered a serious laceration to his mouth on Saturday when he took fastball from New York Mets pitcher Jaob deGrom to his face.

The 95 mph (152.89 Km/h) second-inning offering from deGrom moved up and in on Haninger, who couldn't turn away in time and crumpled to the ground when it hit.

He received attention from the training staff before departing the field under his own steam.

"Obviously, any time that happens it's pretty scary. It was a severe laceration of the upper lip," said Mariners manager Scott Servais, whose team went on to a 3-2 victory at Safeco Field in Seattle.

"It could have been much worse," Servais said. "He was never unconscious. When I went out there, he was talking."

Haniger, a 26-year-old in his second season in the major leagues, is batting .255 with seven home runs, 24 runs-batted-in, 26 walks and an on-base percentage of .355.

(AFP)