Ray grateful he wasn't seriously injured

ST. LOUIS -- Robbie Ray said things were moving a little slower than usual for him Sunday, but the D-backs' left-hander considered himself extremely fortunate that the 108.1-mph line drive he took off the left side of his head Friday night against the Cardinals did not cause more damage than three small staples and a concussion.
"Honestly, I feel like I'm pretty thankful, pretty blessed to be here right now and feeling the way I do," Ray said, standing in front of his locker in the visitors' clubhouse at Busch Stadium. "It hit me on a spot where there was pretty much nothing there except for skull. No fracture, no bleeding. I'm just kind of slow right now. That's really it. I haven't had a whole lot of symptoms or anything. I've just been sleeping a whole lot."
Ray was placed on the seven-day concussion list Saturday, and with Monday's off-day, the D-backs will simply slide Zack Greinke into Ray's rotation spot on Thursday. Come next weekend, the D-backs will need Ray or another starter to pitch.
"I know it's a process," Ray said of his recovery. "I'm trying to work my way through this first and get back to 100 percent where I need to be so I can help this team. I'm not really thinking about getting back out there until I get back to 100 percent."

Ray never lost consciousness, and while some pitchers say they don't remember getting hit, Ray is able to recall every detail.
"I remember seeing it come back at me and trying to get my face out of the way," Ray said. "That was the main thing. I didn't want it to hit me in the front of the face. Then I remember hitting the ground. I remember the whole thing."
Luke Voit, who hit the line drive, knelt by Ray on the mound and the two shared words.
"He was just saying, 'Hey, I hope you feel better, I hope you have a speedy recovery.' You never like to see this happen," Ray recalled. "I just told him, 'Hey, man. It's baseball. Stuff happens. Guys get hit. It just happened to be me this time.'"
Ray has been pitching in professional baseball since 2010, and this was the first time he had suffered a concussion or been hit in the head by a batted ball.
Going forward, he doesn't think it should be an issue for him.
"I've never had anything near my face or my head," Ray said. "I've gotten hit by line drives on my arm and in the legs, but never anything close to the head or shoulders, really. It's a freak accident. It's not anything that happens on a daily basis. You don't see it happening a whole lot. I'm not really concerned about it."