VIDEO: Valverde claims NL saves lead even after liner off face

It’s been a crazy week of plays that have injured players with line drives to the head and others running into the wall. Houston Astros’ closer Jose Valverde took over the National League saves lead after finishing the game against the Philadelphia Phillies Friday night at Minute Maid Park. However, earlier in the inning, Valverde was hit with a line drive off the bat of Pedro Feliz that first hit the tip of his glove before making contact with his face.

Valverde hit the ground immediately and after being attended to by members of the Astros athletic training and coaching staff, he returned to his feet. Amazingly enough, Valverde stayed in the game, and closed out the ninth inning, giving him an NL leading 15th save of the season. The video is below.