Shortstop Cliff Pennington of the Oakland Athletics had a scary episode during Monday night's game against the Seattle Mariners. Pennington was having trouble moving muscles in his face, and had trouble even closing his eyes. He was taken out in the sixth inning and was listed as day-to-day.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Pennington has Bell's Palsy, which paralyzes one side of the face and prevents him from controlling his muscles. Pennington has taken medication that should hopefully limit the symptoms, but Bell's Palsy is notoriously unpredictable and could last days, weeks or months. Pennington might still be able to play, but he has to be able to prove that he can open and close his eyes properly. Without being able to blink, his vision blurs up and he isn't able to properly field baseballs.
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