Los Angeles Angels pitcher Michael Lorenzen didn’t shy away from calling out MLB after his pitch hit Seattle Mariners outfielder Justin Upton in the head Friday.
“I don’t know what Major League Baseball is playing with these baseballs, but [the ball] fully slipped out of my hand,” Lorenzen said to reporters following the Angels’ 8-1 loss Friday. “It’s just crazy, man.”
Lorenzen, who gave up seven runs against Seattle in the loss, blamed the incident on MLB’s baseballs being “slick” and that he doesn’t “know what’s going on” with the continually changing balls.
In 2021, MLB admitted to using two different types of balls, according to Business Insider.
Upton, who was released by the Angels in April before being picked up by the Mariners, was making his debut for Seattle on Friday.
Justin Upton #8 of the Seattle Mariners is down after being hit by a pitch during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park. Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Lorenzen’s 91-mph fastball clocked Upton in the head during the bottom of the fifth inning, with the pitch knocking Upton’s helmet off his head as the outfielder fell to the ground.
After a team trainer and Mariners manager Scott Servais approached the outfielder, Upton left the diamond. Servais said Upton was OK and didn’t lose consciousness after being hit by the pitch.
Upton was the designated hitter for the Mariners in both games on Saturday but was hitless in both games as Seattle was swept by Los Angeles in the doubleheader..
