Ray Hits Deck Twice, Suffers Sore Neck

MESA, Ariz. — Johnny Ray suffered a sore neck and a few moments of lightheadedness Saturday after being hit on the helmet twice during a simulated game.

The Angels’ second baseman was hitting right-handed when a Scott Bailes curveball sent him diving to the dirt, and was hitting left-handed when a fastball got away from Bryan Harvey. Ray’s neck snapped back on the second occasion and he needed several minutes to regain his composure, but walked off the field unaided.

“I kind of figured it was my day to get out of there after the second one,” Ray said. “It wasn’t too bad. It’s one of those things. Pitchers just lose one sometimes.”

Ray felt fortunate that he lost no more than his breath.

“It’s pretty scary when you’re looking at a ball coming at your head at 90-something miles per hour and feeling that you can’t get out of the way,” he said. “Other than that, it was a piece of cake.”