Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka struck in head by line drive, taken to hospital

New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing after he was drilled on the right side of the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive Saturday afternoon.

Tanaka, who was throwing his first simulated game at Yankee Stadium on the team's first official day of "summer camp" workouts, immediately collapsed on the pitching mound after he was hit.

The 31-year-old right-hander was down for about five minutes. He was able to walk off the field, through the dugout and into the clubhouse with some assistance by several staffers and trainers.

The team said Tanaka was "alert, responsive and walking under his own power."

"That's kind of a freak accident, one in a million chance of happening," said left-hander Jordan Montgomery, who replaced Tanaka on the mound moments later. "When it does, it's terrifying."

Montgomery requested a protective net be set up before he started throwing to hitters about five minutes after Tanaka walked off.

"Some people like doing it, some don't," Montgomery said about using the L-shaped screen. "I requested it after that, just because I was little shaken up."

Stanton bent over at the plate as soon as Tanaka was hit, and Yankees players stood by silently as the medical staff rushed over to attend to the starter, who is a key piece of the team's rotation.

In six seasons with the Yankees, Tanaka is 75-43 with a 3.75 ERA, 947 strikeouts and 200 walks.

The Yankees have already lost one starting pitcher to injury, with Luis Severino having undergone Tommy John surgery in the spring.

Later Saturday, the Yankees announced that infielder  DJ LeMahieu and reliever  Luis Cessa have tested positive for the coronavirus. Manager Aaron Boone said they are at home and gave the team permission to release their status.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.