San Diego Padres star Luis Arraez had to be removed from Sunday night’s game on a stretcher following a scary collision with Houston Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon. The Padres issued an update shortly after, saying that Arraez was taken to a local hospital for observation and that he was stable, conscious, responsive and moving all of his extremities.
It happened in the top of the first inning as Arraez attempted a drag bunt down the first base line. As Dubon raced over to cover the first base bag and receive a throw from first baseman Christian Walker, Arraez ran directly into him and immediately fell to the ground.
It was an awkward play as Arraez was in a full sprint to try and beat out the bunt, while Dubon was unable to stop his momentum from sprinting over to the bag. Given the speed of both players and the timing, there was pretty much no chance for anybody to avoid the collision.
Arraez has three consecutive batting titles across both leagues and on three different teams.
His first batting title was the 2022 crown when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins. After being traded to the Miami Marlins that offseason, he won the 2023 crown and became the first player to ever win a batting title in back-to-back years in different leagues. He was again traded early in the 2024 season, going to the Padres, where he won the batting title again.
He is off to a slower start this season (by his standards) and entered Sunday’s game with a .287 average.
The Padres are off to one of the best starts in the league with a 15-6 record going into Sunday’s game at Houston.
