A woman was struck in the side of the face by a foul ball during the bottom of the eighth inning of the Tigers' 2-0 loss to the Rangers on Friday night at Comerica Park.

Play was halted for several minutes while EMTs attended to the woman, who was eventually taken away on a stretcher.

A woman, who was not identified by the Tigers, was taken to the first aid station at the ballpark after being struck by a foul ball off the bat of Anthony Gose. The woman was seated behind the home dugout on the third base side of the ballpark. She was conscious, according to the spokesperson, and was then taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital for further evaluation and X-rays.

Several Tigers, including manager Brad Ausmus, said something needs to be done to increase safety for fans.

"I think the fan safety is a growing concern," Ausmus said. "It's not really my call, but I do think it's something that should be looked at."

Justin Verlander said it seems like there's a near-miss just about every game.

"Hopefully it doesn't get to a point where something really serious happens before there's an adjustment made," Verlander said. "I think baseball needs to make an adjustment in a hurry."

Verlander said nets can be extended to protect prime areas where foul balls frequently go into the stands.

"You can break down numbers and say, 'OK, this is where you're really in danger of the hard-hit line drive," Verlander said, adding the low liners even catch the players off-guard in the dugout.

Verlander said there are already disclaimers on the back of tickets and warnings at each game but there are still incidents.

Nick Castellanos said nets need to go up "without a doubt" around ballparks, including those in the minors.

Castellanos recalled seeing kids get hit during his playing time at West Michigan.

"I don't know what the cause is, why they haven't done it, but for the safety of the fans, I think it's necessary," Castellanos said. "If today doesn't get nets up, what else is it going to take?"

Castellanos went on to mention the ugly incident in Boston, where a woman was struck in the head by the barrel of a shattered bat at Fenway Park.

Castellanos said the nets should extend down to where the dugout ends.

"There's no way that lady could have reacted to Gose's line drive," Castellanos said.

Even if the nets took away some vantage point, Castellanos said: "The safety of the fans is more important. I'm praying that that lady is OK and I know that she wishes that a net was up tonight."
