Yankees run scores after umpire hit in face by Guardians throw home in scary incident (VIDEO)

An umpire left the field after being hit in the head with a baseball unintentionally on a Guardians throw home.

In a scary incident, an MLB umpire left the New York Yankees-Cleveland Guardians game early on Wednesday afternoon after taking a baseball to the head.

In the fifth inning of the matinee game and rubber match, a throw home was cut off because an umpire was in the path of the throw, taking the ball to the head.

The umpire, Larry Vanover, left the game.

How the play unfolded that ended in umpire getting hit in the head on throw home

Kyle Higashioka hit the ball deep, and Myles Straw played it off the wall. New York scored one run easily to bring the score to 3-1, and the second run scored, in part, as a product of the interrupted throw at second base.

Andres Gimenez threw the ball in question, which clearly came out of the hand wrong and flew off target, which is why Vanover, who would have been out of the path on a normal throw, was hit. You can see Amed Rosario flinch not expecting the ball to come near him, and catcher Cam Gallagher moves well away from the plate after seeing the direction of the ball.

The play was scored an error (E4). Broadcasters described the error as somewhat unfair, but slowing the video down, it’s clear that the throw only hit Vanover because it was off-target. Even if Vanover was not in the way, it very well may have gotten past the catcher and allowed a run to score, so an error feels fair, if not deserved.

Hopefully, Vanover is OK. He walked off the field on his own power.