Angels Catcher Jonathan Lucroy Carted Off Following Home Plate Collision

Jonathan Lucroy left in the eighth inning with the game tied at 10.

Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy was carted off the field in the eighth inning after a collision at the plate with Houston’s Jake Marisnick.

The bases were loaded with the game tied at 10 when Marisnick attempted to score on a sacrifice fly by George Springer.

Marisnick crashed into Lucroy as he attempted to field the throw, and the catcher immediately fell on his back. He didn’t move for a few seconds before struggling to sit up. Marisnick tagged home and then leaned over Lucroy to see if he was OK. He lifted his head off the ground a few seconds later as blood dripped from his nose.

Angels players rushed to the plate as trainers checked on him. He was lifted to a sitting position after a couple of minutes and held a towel to his nose. He was then helped to a cart and taken off the field while clutching a bloodstained towel.

Marisnick was called out for colliding with Lucroy and the call was upheld after a crew chief review to end the inning.

Lucroy was taken to the hospital to undergo a CT scan to be evaluated for a concussion and possible nose fracture, according to the team.

Angels manager Brad Ausmus was livid about the play after the game. He told reporters that Major League Baseball should consider suspending Marisnick.

A former catcher, Ausmus knows what it's like to get knocked over by a baserunner trying to score. Collisions were an every-game possibility during his playing career, which ended before MLB changed the rules for plays at the plate. Prior to the 2014 season, the league and the MLB Players Association instituted Rule 7.13 to eliminate "egregious" collisions at home plate.

Marisnick, as the umpires determined, violated that rule because he had a clear lane to reach home plate and could score without running into Lucroy. Instead he deviated inside the base path and initiated the contact.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Marisnick said he misread where the throw was going and made the decision to slide head-first to the inside of the plate. "That decision," he tweeted, "got another player hurt and I feel awful."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.