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Two MLB players left a divisional game Thursday night after a scary collision at first base.
Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Max Muncy both crashed to the field after a bang-bang play.
Muncy hit a ball up the line in the fifth inning and Vargas, seeing that pitcher Ryne Nelson wasn’t going to get to the bag in time, charged toward first. Muncy hit him to the bag, but the players collided and flew into the air.
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Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy reacts to an apparent injury after colliding with Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Ildemaro Vargas at first base in the fifth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on June 4, 2026. (Anna Carrington/Imagn Images)
Both lay on the field for several minutes as trainers worked on them in a quiet stadium. Muncy got up first and walked slowly to the dugout, while Vargas got up with help and walked to his dugout.
Muncy left short of breath and was assessed for, but avoided, a concussion. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would not play Friday against the Angels — it was already a scheduled day off — but could be available over the weekend.
Vargas suffered bruises all along his left side – thigh, ribs and neck. X-rays were negative, and he told manager Torey Lovullo he would be ready to play Friday if needed.
Arizona Diamondbacks athletic trainers tend to first baseman Ildemaro Vargas after a collision with Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy during the fifth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, June 4, 2026. (Anna Carrington/Imagn Images)
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Muncy told reporters he was a little beat up but will be okay.
“I really hope Vargas is okay – I sent something over to him,” he said. “I hope he’s okay and he’s not too bad. But just a bad situation that it seems like none of us knew which direction to go.”
Vargas told reporters through an interpreter that his “whole body” felt like he “ran into a truck.”
“It’s the kind of thing you see on the baseball field when two players are on the ground after trying to make a busy play,” Lovullo said. “It’s hard to see, but they both came off the field.”
Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers collides with Ildemaro Vargas of the Arizona Diamondbacks at first base during the fifth inning at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on June 4, 2026. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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The game was the completion of a four-game set in Arizona that they split. Arizona saved the series with a 3-2 victory after the scary moment.
