Angels' Taylor Ward Taken to Hospital with Injury After Running into Astros Scoreboard

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward suffered a scary injury on Sunday against the Houston Astros.

As Ward tried to make a play at the wall at Daikin Park, he collided with the Astros' scoreboard face-first and went to the ground. He was able to get up on his own but appeared bloody as he received towels from the Angels' bullpen.

He was taken to the hospital by ambulance, where he received stitches for a cut above his right eye, interim manager Ray Montgomery said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

According to the Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher, Ward and fellow Angels outfielder Jo Adell on Saturday discussed how dangerous the Astros' scoreboard in the outfield can be when trying to make plays like the one Ward attempted on Sunday.

Adell reiterated the dangers of the scoreboard after the injury.

"The bottom line, and I've talked about this before, but there should be no out-of-town metal scoreboard anywhere on the baseball field," Adell said. "It's the big leagues. Like this is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he's got to worry about a metal fence. That's crazy."

Ward, who is in his eighth season in the majors, is having the best year of his career, recording 30 home runs, 94 RBI and a .792 OPS in 133 games. He and Adell have formed one of the best outfielder duos in MLB this season, as Adell has slugged 30 homers and 82 RBI. They were the first pair of teammates to reach 30 home runs in the majors this year.

Despite Ward and Adell's success, the Angels have once again struggled. They currently sit nine games back in the wild card race at 63-72 and will miss the postseason for an 11th consecutive season. After losing 10 of its last 14 games, Los Angeles will look to salvage what is left of its season before trying to regroup this offseason.

The main concern for the Angels now is the health of Ward as the star outfielder looks to avoid a major injury.

Ward has dealt with a previous facial injury, as he missed the final two months of the 2023 season after taking a fastball from Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah to the face. The pitch hospitalized Ward, and he later had reconstructive surgery on his nose.