BOSTON -- What had been one of loudest nights of the season at Fenway Park suddenly became very quiet in the top of the fifth inning when Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck was belted below the right eye by a line drive off the bat of Kyle Higashioka at the start of the fifth inning.

Houck immediately went to the ground, and his face became bloodied by the impact.

The initial diagnosis of a facial contusion indicated that Houck might have dodged a major injury. 

After getting stitches at the ballpark, Houck went to a nearby hospital for observation, Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed after his team’s 15-5 victory over the Yankees on Friday night.

“He was conscious the whole time, so that's good,” said Cora. “He's in the hospital right now getting further tests. We’ll know more, obviously, at the end of the night, but we got lucky there.”

Houck was able to walk off the mound under his own power and gave a fist pump to the crowd as he neared the dugout. The moment was unsettling to both teams and everyone who witnessed it.

“It’s not good,” said Cora. “We reacted right away. He knew where he was right away and he kept saying he was fine. We just have to make sure we slow him down. I saw him while he was getting stitches. I mean, he got lucky. Let's put it that way.”

Red Sox designated hitter Justin Turner, who got 16 stitches on March 6 after getting hit by a pitch during Spring Training, could relate to what his teammate was going through.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Turner. “It’s scary when anyone gets hit up in the head [area]. Obviously it was bleeding right away. He got his stitches back there and he was in good spirits and we know he’s a tough guy so he’ll bounce back. I didn't get a chance to talk to him in the clubhouse, but a couple of guys did. And he was in pretty good spirits before he went to the hospital to get some scans and [get checked on]. And hopefully it's a few stitches and hopefully back out there.“

Before the injury, Houck pitched well, holding the Yankees to four hits and one run over four-plus innings while walking one and striking out two.

“He threw the ball well and he’s been doing that for a while now,” said Cora. “Obviously there's going to be outings where he will struggle, but he is a good pitcher. And he kept throwing his best pitches as much as possible, and he kept them off-balance and he did an outstanding job.”