CLEVELAND – The Indians dugout collectively held its breath as backstop Austin Hedges took a 93.3 mph pitch off his helmet and dropped to the dirt in the Indians’ 7-0 victory over the Mariners on Friday night.

“I was afraid for him to roll over because I was afraid there was gonna be blood,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “I mean it looked bad when it hit him. So there’s a little bit of relief when you know, OK he’s moving his legs, he knows where he is, things like that.”

Hedges, who was hit by Justin Dunn, was able to get to his feet and remain in the game, taking first base before immediately sprinting to third on a base hit. But a few innings later, the Indians decided to pull him from the game when he reported that he wasn’t quite feeling himself.

“He didn’t complain,” Francona said, “he just said he felt, I don’t know if the word was ‘funny.’ He wasn’t perfect. As soon as we heard that, he was coming out.”

The good news is that Hedges cleared all the concussion protocols on Friday and went through his last round on Saturday morning. When Francona left to join the pregame Zoom call with local media, he said he was 99.9% sure that Hedges was about to be cleared to stay on the active roster. But just in case, the team had catcher Ryan Lavarnway come in from his Triple-A series in Iowa to be in Cleveland if he was needed.

“He looks terrific, which is really a relief,” Francona said of Hedges. “The only reason we say 99.9, he’s still doing it right now when I had to come in here. But by all [accounts] -- he’s gonna be OK.”

Lavarnway was able to be in Cleveland for Saturday’s matchup against Seattle just in case he was needed, but what would’ve happened if René  Rivera would’ve suffered an injury after Hedges was already pulled from the game? Apparently, the Indians have designated utility guy Yu Chang as the emergency catcher.

“Chang caught in high school, which was good enough for me,” Francona said. “We actually got him a mask last night during the game and I think the guys had some fun with it. But that’s not a good feeling.”

Because the Indians were confident that Hedges would pass his testing Saturday morning, the team already had informed Kyle Nelson that he would be optioned to Triple-A to clear space on the 26-man roster for starter Triston McKenzie. But Francona did have Nelson hang around the clubhouse just in case the testing would’ve showed something that prompted the team to place Hedges on the injured list. However, heading to Columbus may be the best move for Nelson to be able to get more consistent innings, having pitched just six frames at the big league level.

“He spins the ball really well, especially for a young kid,” Francona said of the 24-year-old Nelson. “He’s been in a little bit of a tough spot where he’s in a bullpen with so many good right-handers -- some dominant right-handers -- so his work has been kind of spotty. So I think you’re seeing a young kid in the Major Leagues for the first time and he’s not getting consistent innings. That’s not easy to do and we explained that to him.”