METAIRIE, La. (AP) - Texas Rangers minor league pitcher Eric Hurley has been taken to a hospital after being struck on the right side of his head by a one-hop comebacker.

The Rangers say Hurley, who plays for Round Rock, never lost consciousness after being hit on the fourth pitch he threw Monday night at New Orleans.

Hurley managed to get the tip of his glove on the ball, but immediately dropped to the ground. He was taken to East Jefferson General Hospital as a precaution even though he left the field under his own power.

Hurley, a first-round pick by Texas in 2004, made five major league starts in 2008. The right-hander missed 2009 after surgery on a torn rotator cuff and last year after surgery twice on a broken left wrist.

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