(Busch Stadium) The news remained positive this afternoon on Arizona pitcher Robbie Ray, who was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Luke Voit in last night’s game. The pitcher has been placed on the 7-day disabled list as part of concussion protocol, but had already left the hospital, showered, and returned to the hotel before players were finished last night at the ballpark.

Still, it was difficult for Luke Voit to settle down and sleep last night, even with the relief of knowing Ray was okay.

“That definitely eased the mind, but it still kind of sticks with me,” said Voit. “Just makes you think about the small things in life. Staying close to your family. I don’t know. It makes you think about people you haven’t seen in a while. It’s just scary stuff. It will probably be in the back of mind, I’ll always remember this.”

The exit velocity on the line drive was just over 108 mph and struck Ray on the left side of his head, in between his temple and ear. Remarkably, he was not seriously injured and was able to sit up and then stand to get on the cart which drove him from the field.

“Think about it, he could’ve died,” said Voit. “Just crazy…it’s just stuff you don’t want to happen, but it’s part of it.”

Voit had a friend reach out to him that dealt with a similar circumstance last year in Triple A, sharing it took him a couple of weeks to get over that incident. Luke also reached out to a friend–Daniel Poncedeleon.

“He’s good,” shared Voit. “He’s at his house and he’s got a baby now. Yeah, I think he’s going to come back. I think it’s on him if he wants to play, but I think he got cleared to play.”

Earlier this season with Memphis (AAA), Poncedeleon was struck in the head by a hit and required surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.

Despite the scary look of things, Ray did not suffer the same circumstance and actually stopped by the Diamondbacks clubhouse earlier today.

“He looked really good,” said Arizona Manager Torey Louvullo. “Obviously the wound was repaired with a couple staples in his head. He just said he felt a little bit sore. So everything is trending towards a very positive outcome and we’re very thankful for that.”

Ray was not available to speak with the media, but did post the following message on his Twitter account:

photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

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