Taylor Ward's terrifying hit-by-pitch almost had serious repercussions for LA Angels

For a brief moment on Sunday, Los Angeles Angels fans and, really, baseball fans everywhere held their collective breath. It is never easy to see a guy get hit in the head by a pitch, as the results are often brutal. However, it was especially scary given that it was Taylor Ward who was struck, given everything that he has been through.

Ward's recovery from taking a pitch from Alek Manoah to the face has been well-documented at this point. While Ward avoided the worst, the injury still required extensive surgery to basically rebuild his face, and many wondered if he would ever be the same guy again in the major leagues. That Ward was able to come back and be a critical cog in the Angels' offense this season is nothing short of remarkable.

All of that progress could have come to an end after another errant fastball, this time from Detroit's Shelby Miller, caromed off of Ward's head in the ninth inning on Sunday. Luckily for Ward and the Angels, it appears as though he dodged a serious injury this time.

Ward dodging serious injury is great news on multiple fronts for the LA Angels

The most important thing here is that Ward is okay. Given the injuries he suffered last year and the plates now permanently inserted in his face, it would not have been shocking if Ward had suffered another serious injury on Sunday, as the pitch caught him very, very flush. Luckily, he passed all the concussion protocol tests, and the flap on his helmet did its job in keeping the ball from making direct contact with his head/face.

There was obviously no intent here, as Miller couldn't do much of anything right in his 0.2 innings of work, giving up five runs and nearly the game in the process. The Tigers' catcher wasn't set up anywhere near where the pitch ended up going; this was as pure a miss as a miss can be. Regardless, it was still nice that Miller and Tigers manager AJ Hinch made sure to send their apologies and to check on Ward in the aftermath.

While the Angels weren't quite able to complete the comeback and fell to the Tigers, Ward being okay has wider benefits than just his personal well-being. Ward is among the Angels' best trade chips at the trade deadline this year, with a number of teams seemingly interested in him. Any injury in this spot, especially one that would have put him on the shelf for a while, likely would have torpedoed any chance of LA getting a nice return package for him if they decide to move him at the deadline.

Most importantly, Ward checked out just fine. That's all you can ask for after such a jump scare.

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