Dramatic Collision
Reds' Dane Myers Carted Off After Acrobatic Wall Collision During Key Brewers Game
Key Points
Myers sprinted 76 feet to rob Andrew Vaughn of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning before colliding with the wall.
Fans gave him a standing ovation as he exited the field on a medical cart with visible pain in his left shoulder.
The first-inning RBI double gave the Reds the initial lead, and it left Myers with 14 RBIs on the season.
The line drive that Myers chased for the out was a 103.5-mph shot off Andrew Vaughn, tracked along the warning track before the collision.
At the time of the play, Myers was batting .256 with three home runs this season.
Cincinnati Reds center fielder Dane Myers was carted off the field and taken to a local Milwaukee hospital Sunday night after crashing full-speed into the outfield wall to make a spectacular catch against the Brewers. Myers sprinted 76 feet to rob Andrew Vaughn of an extra-base hit on a 103.5-mph line drive, but slammed into the left-center wall and collapsed, clutching his left shoulder — ball still in his glove.
Initial X-rays at the stadium came back negative for fractures, but Myers was transferred to a hospital for advanced imaging due to "extreme discomfort," according to dispatch.com. Manager Terry Francona said after the game: "The kid was really hurt and it wasn't going away... He's fearless going into the wall, probably like nobody I've ever seen. I can't believe he held on, but he paid a pretty big price for it."
A 76-Foot Sprint Ends in a Violent Wall Crash
The collision came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn crushed a line drive at 103.5 mph to deep left-center. Myers broke immediately and sprinted 76 feet in roughly 4.2 seconds, per MLB.com. He made a backhanded over-the-shoulder catch along the warning track — then his momentum drove him straight into the wall.
Myers crumpled to the warning track but never dropped the ball. Training staff and Francona rushed out. A medical cart came onto the field. The Milwaukee crowd of 32,455 gave Myers a standing ovation as he was wheeled off, a rare show of respect for a visiting player, noted MLB.com reporter Adam McCalvy.
Myers Had Already Made His Mark Before the Hit
Myers was not just a defensive hero on Sunday. In the first inning, he hit a two-out RBI double off Brewers starter Robert Gasser to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead. The hit pushed his season RBI total to 14. He was batting .256 with three home runs and a .743 OPS on the year, according to MLB.com.
The 30-year-old signed a one-year deal with Cincinnati in March 2026. He has a history of aggressive defense. St. Albert Gazette noted that while with Miami in 2025, Myers missed the final week of that season after cutting his knee on a chain-link fence during a similar wall-crash play.
Reds Blew a 3-0 Lead and Lost Without Their Centerfielder
TJ Friedl replaced Myers in center field. Friedl had been recalled from Triple-A Louisville just 24 hours earlier — a move made because outfielder Blake Dunn landed on the 10-day injured list with a right elbow strain, per Lima Ohio. Friedl had been hitting just .179 before his demotion to Triple-A on June 3.
Starter Nick Lodolo threw five strong innings of one-hit ball with the Reds up 3-0. But after Myers left, Cincinnati's bullpen surrendered the lead. The Brewers rallied to win 5-3, dropping the Reds to 39-43 and fourth place in the NL Central, according to Cincinnati Enquirer.
Reds Now Dangerously Thin in the Outfield
With both Myers and Dunn now likely facing IL stints, Cincinnati's outfield depth is stretched thin. The team could be forced into the trade market before the July 30 deadline, according to Columbus Dispatch. No formal injury update on Myers had been released as of early Monday.
The debate over whether the catch was worth the risk surfaced quickly online. Some fans argued it was a reckless move in a June game. But Francona did not second-guess his player. "That was a sacrifice of his body for this team," he said, per Cincinnati Enquirer. For a Reds club clinging to relevance at 39-43, that kind of effort may be the only thing that fires up a struggling clubhouse.
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