WATCH: Baseball player takes a brutal fastball to the face

Ooooohhhhh this is brutality at it's finest!

Detroit Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones says he is feeling lucky a day after being hit in the face by a pitch that later sparked a benches-clearing tussle between the Tigers and Minnesota Twins.

Jones told reporters before not starting the series finale on Sunday that he took nine stitches in his lip after Justin Haley hit him with the pitch.

He says his teeth are still sore but he had experienced no signs of a concussion. He plans to have a few more tests when the team returns to Detroit.

Jones was taken to a hospital after being hit but says he was able to have dinner later on Saturday night.

Tigers starter Matthew Boyd was ejected later in the game after throwing behind Twins slugger Miguel Sano, who got into a shoving match with catcher James McCann as both benches cleared.

• This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.