BOSTON (AP) — Boston Red Sox star pitcher Garrett Crochet experienced a scare on Sunday when a line drive glanced off his glove and nose, eventually resulting in a groundout to second base. Manager Alex Cora, accompanied by a team trainer, hurried to the mound after the close call with a sharply hit ball from Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa in the fourth inning.

The ball brushed off Crochet’s glove as he turned his head, making contact with his nose before continuing on. Cora and the trainer brought a towel to the mound, and Crochet had a slight trickle of blood when he blew his nose. “I’m fine,” Crochet stated following Boston’s 5-4 defeat to the Twins. “It barely touched me; the initial shock was more unsettling than anything.”

He remained in the game and struck out the next batter, Jonah Bride, with a sweeping pitch. Afterward, he allowed a single to center by Brooks Lee before Harrison Bader grounded out to short, concluding the inning. “I immediately checked my nose to make sure it felt normal,” he explained. “It was numb at first, as I mentioned, from the initial impact.”

When asked about bleeding, he replied: “Yes, just a little bit. Not much at all.” Crochet exited after the fifth inning, having thrown 89 pitches, surrendering a run on four hits, and tallying six strikeouts. “He’s doing fine, clearly pushed through the last inning,” Cora remarked regarding the brief outing. A more significant concern might be his fastball velocity, which was a few mph slower throughout most of the start.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Crochet said when questioned about the drop. “Between starts, during bullpen sessions, I’m focusing on refining my mechanics, including overall command and velocity. It’s early in May, so that’s what I’m attributing it to.” The Red Sox acquired the left-hander in an offseason trade with the White Sox, and he signed a six-year, $170-million extension with Boston on April 1.