Brewers player taken off field by ambulance after being struck by a ball during batting practice

PITTSBURGH – The bad injury luck for the Milwaukee Brewers somehow just got even worse.

Pitcher Jakob Junis was taken off the field by ambulance after being hit by a batted ball while jogging in the outfield while the Pittsburgh Pirates took batting practice prior to the series-opening game at PNC Park on Monday afternoon.

"Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis was hit in the neck by a batted ball during batting practice," the Brewers said in a statement. "He is conscious, alert and responsive. He was sent to the hospital for further evaluation."

Milwaukee reporters were inside the clubhouse interviewing manager Pat Murphy at the time the incident occurred but those on the field indicated Junis was struck near the warning track and went down immediately.

Junis, who is on the injured list with a shoulder ailment, was on the field for roughly 15 minutes while being tended to. He was alert while being lifted into an ambulance.

Milwaukee placed starting pitcher Wade Miley on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day with left elbow inflammation, where he joins Junis and DL Hall as key members of the starting rotation placed on the IL in a span of 36 hours. The Brewers are also without prospect Robert Gasser, who would have likely made his MLB debut this week if not for bone spurs in his elbow.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' Jakob Junis taken off by ambulance after being struck by ball