Gallo expects to return to Rangers’ lineup Tuesday against Astros

The broken nose Joey Gallo had in 2010, that was a bad one.

What happened was he took a bat to the face while he and his high school teammates were milling around the dugout. The resulting fracture was bad enough that he was forced to have surgery and miss a significant amount of time.

“My nose went all over the place,” he said.

So, the current crack in his nose, non-displaced at that, is nothing. Well, not nothing, because it hurt at the time and the swelling and lingering blood made breathing more difficult for 48 hours.

His upper lip was worse, he claimed.

By Wednesday, though, neither looked particularly bad, and, most important of all, the sluggishness he felt as a result of the nose-breaking collision Sunday with Matt Bush had dissipated.

Gallo ultimately will have to clear protocol next week to be activated from the seven-day concussion list, but he sees no reason why he won’t be in the lineup Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series at Houston.

“I don’t see why not,” Gallo said. “That’s six days from now. It gives me a lot of time to still rest and do activity and the tests I need to do to be able to go out there and be able to perform.”

The Rangers’ leader in home runs with 35, Gallo joined the team at Angel Stadium after a morning flight from Texas and will travel with them to Oakland late Thursday.

Gallo worked out, threw and hit off a tee three days after he and Bush collided in the eighth inning Sunday while chasing down a Nicky Delmonico infield pop. Gallo remembers that the infielders where shifted toward right field, meaning as the third baseman he was stationed more like a shortstop.

While tracking the ball, he said that he had the passing thought that Bush might be going for it, too. Gallo said that, in hindsight, he should have started calling for the ball to ward off Bush.

At the time they knocked heads, Gallo never saw Bush. Then, he saw blood. Lots and lots of blood.

“I thought I broke my nose for sure, it was just bleeding so much,” Gallo said. “I just couldn’t feel anything. I thought maybe my teeth fell out. I actually lucked out. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

Other than a headache the night of the injury, Gallo hasn’t had any of the usual concussion symptoms aside some dizziness and a sensation that things were moving in slow motion.

The headache subsided, and he hasn’t had any sensitivity to light. He just wasn’t feeling normal.

“We did some physical stuff yesterday, and I just felt a little off,” he said. “I felt a little dizzy while I was doing them, and I had to take a lot more time off between them than I normally would.

Manager Jeff Banister said that Gallo will spend the next few days doing either what the medical staff will allow him or what his pain tolerance will allow him to do.

Gallo said missing a key four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels will be difficult. The wild-card contenders split the first two games, and Andrew Cashner was on the mound as the Rangers led 4-3 in the sixth inning late Wednesday.

Ryan Rua, a right-handed hitter, was the left fielder against Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney. Drew Robinson, who bats left-handed, will likely start in left field Thursday in the finale against right-hander Troy Scribner.

Gallo will be on the bench, which is much better than sitting in the infield with blood pouring out of a broken nose.

“My face is actually OK,” Gallo said. “I’m just concerned about getting back into the speed of games.”

AL wild-card standings

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 9:02 PM with the headline "Gallo expects to return to Rangers’ lineup Tuesday against Astros."