GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone above his left eye but has no other serious injuries after being hit in the face by a line drive in a spring training game. Team doctor Timothy Kremchek said Chapman could be playing again in six to eight weeks. The left-hander with a fastball that has reached 105 mph hopefully will start exercising and throwing in a couple of weeks, Kremchek said. The doctor called Chapman "a very lucky guy." Kremchek said a metal plate will be inserted in the bone above his left eyebrow, with perhaps a bone graft as well, and will remain there permanently. Chapman has a very mild concussion but no other brain injury and no injury to his eye, Kremchek said. "Hes feeling better and he has some pain management. Were optimistic that he is going to be on the mend," Reds manager Bryan Price said after meeting with players Thursday morning at the teams spring training facility. "Obviously, well stay in touch. We will make sure we follow the process as we continue to get familiar with the injury itself. We will let him know how much support he has and that we care about him. Hopefully, we will see him here very soon." Catcher Brayan Pena, a fellow Cuban and Chapmans close friend, was one of several Reds players who visited the injured pitcher Wednesday night and spoke to him on the phone Thursday morning. "He was talking to me and we joked a lot," Pena said. "He just wanted to make sure for me to tell everybody that he appreciate so much the fans prayers, especially our teammates, our coaching staff, everybody around, how much support and how much love he received and got from all of us." Pena said Chapman was very happy when they spoke Thursday, "talking and joking. He was talking a lot about some Cuban jokes and thats good because that means his memory is still working pretty good." The frightening incident, widely available on video via the Internet, occurred in the sixth inning of Wednesday night game at Kansas Citys spring training facility in Surprise, Ariz., when the Royals Salvador Perez lined Chapmans 99 mph fastball into the pitchers face. Chapman was knocked backward to the ground, then rolled on his face, kicking in pain. Pena rushed to the mound. "Honestly when I saw it I wanted to cry," Pena said. "That was my first feeling because it was very scary. It was very scary because I saw the line drive going straight for his face, and then I saw him bleeding and kicking and moving around the way he was." Pena said Chapman "wasnt even talking. He was just like moaning and making sounds and then when I got there I panicked because I didnt know what else to do. Then the medical staff guys got there, and those guys were great." Chapman was taken off the field in a stretcher as the crowd fell into an eerie silence and the game was called off. The pitcher was taken to a nearby hospital, then transferred to Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. Kremchek said he expected Chapman to remain hospitalized for a couple of days, perhaps being released on Saturday. The ball hit Chapman in one of the most protected areas of the skull, the doctor said. "If you get hit in the side of the head, that could be disastrous," Kremchek said. "Where Aroldis got hit, you dont want to say he got hit in a good spot because hes undergoing surgery, but it could have been a lot worse, a lot more injuries, a lot more permanent. Hes very lucky." The 26-year-old Chapman has a fastball that regularly tops 100 mph. The two-time All-Star defected from Cuba in 2009 and made the Reds club in his first season of 2010. He had 38 saves each of the past two seasons, with 122 strikeouts in 71 2-3 innings in 2012 and 112 strikeouts in 63 2-3- innings in 2013. Price, a former pitcher, said pitchers are in a dangerous situation, "regardless of how hard you throw." "Its hard to defend yourself from 53, 54 feet," the manager said. "And everyone finishes their pitches differently. Everyone is not in a perfect fielding position and even if you are there is no guarantee that you can protect yourself when a balls hit that hard." Major League Baseball approved a protective cap for pitchers this winter following several terrifying scenes similar to this one in the last few years. The hats were available for testing during spring training on a voluntary basis but most have rejected them. Besides, the hats would offer no protection to the face, where Chapman was hit. Chapman particularly wanted to thank the Royals organization for its support and offer assurance to Perez that it is just something that happens in baseball and was not his fault. Pena said he also felt some responsibility. "I kind of blame myself a little bit because I could have called slider or I should have called changeup," Pena said. "Thats your thought process. Everything goes through your mind and youre looking for answers. ... You kind of put yourself in that guilt feeling." But Chapman, Pena said, told him "You know, its not your fault. I should have thrown slower. Im the one feeling very bad about it and hes the one thats cheering me up. Hes the one in the hospital." Cheap Jerseys NFL .The Canadian teenage golf sensation announced Thursday shell join the LPGA Tour in 2015 instead of attending the University of Florida. Cheap Jerseys From China . After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs. http://www.cheapjerseysonlinestore.com/. -- Valentin Zykov scored in overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rallied to a 3-2 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Sunday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Cheap Jerseys Store . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose. Cheap Jerseys 2020 .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. VANCOUVER -- The man nicknamed after a cartoon character put in another superhero-like performance. Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson dominated Ali (Puncher) Bagautinov from start to finish Saturday to win a unanimous decision and retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. Johnson showed his pedigree against a challenger who took a beating and was never really a threat at Rogers Arena. "It was a great performance," said Johnson. "Ali Bagauntinov, hes a tough guy. I hit him with a lot of shots with my knees to his face ... my knees are hurting pretty bad. "Usually when I hit people with those shots in the gym they go down." The bout marked the first time the flyweight division has headlined a UFC pay-per view card and was scored 50-45 by all three judges. "(Bagauntinov) likes to back up a lot and draw his opponents in and then go underneath them for a shot," said Johnson. "We knew that he was going to try to wrestle me to slow me down." In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald defeated Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in an impressive unanimous decision in the most exciting bout of the night. Johnson almost connected with a spinning kick with under a minute to go in the fifth and final round, but Bagautinov was able to avoid the blow to send the bout to the scorecards. The five-foot-three Johnson (20-2-1, 8-1-1) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and has now successfully defended the 125-pound belt four times. The 27-year-old who fights out of Parkland, Wash., said this week that the five-foot-four Bagautinov (13-3, 3-1) would pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never faced. But in the end, Baugatinov was overmatched and at times just seemed happy to be in the ring with Johnson, even hugging his opponent before the start of the fifth round. MacDonald, who came into his fight as the No. 2 contender in the 170-division, controlled Woodley from the middle of the first round on, using his superior reach to keep the two-time All-American wrestler at bay, while also connecting with both kicks and punches. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for MacDonald. The 24-year-old MacDonald (17-2, 8-2) took Woodley down two minutes into the third and final round and relentlessly pounded the No. 3-ranked welterweight until the bell sounded. MacDonalds team rushed into the octagon to congratulate their fighter as the crowd of 13,506 roared in approval. "I trained very hard," he said. "I wanted this fight to be the best performance of my career." Born in Quesnel, B.C., but now fighting out of Montreals Tristar Gym, MacDonald was mentored by Georges St-Pierre before the former champion stepped away from the sport late last year. The soft-spoken MacDonald lost to Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "I feel like Im falling into a groove," said MacDonald. "Somethings clicking." The 32-year-old Woodley (13-3, 3-2), who scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March, said bbefore the fight he expected the crowd to be split, but he was sorely mistaken as the Canadian support found its way firmly behind MacDonald from the start, including chants of "Lets go Rory" throughout the tilt.dddddddddddd MacDonald lost to Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver back in June 2010 and he admitted this week that the moment got to him four years ago -- something that didnt happen Saturday. "Ive grown a lot since then," he said. "It was nice being in Vancouver. The response was great." Saturday marked the UFCs first foray into Vancouver since UFC 131 back in June 2011. There were large pockets of empty seats in the arenas upper level on this night and the crowd didnt really get into the action until MacDonald and Woodley entered the octagon. Earlier Saturday night, light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader defeated Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante by unanimous decision in a fight that had fans getting a little restless due to a lack of action. Bader (18-4, 10-4) was the more ambitious fighter in the first two rounds, and perhaps sensing a need to score a knockout to win the bout, Cavalcante (12-5, 2-2) came out swinging in the third, but the Brazilian was unable to land any decisive blows. In the heavyweight division, former champion Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski defeated Brendan (The Hybrid) Schaub by a split decision in his return to UFC after more than six years away from the company. Arlovski (22-10 with one no contest) looked tentative early and spent the majority of the last round on his back, but did enough to earn the victory on two of the judges three scorecards to improve his UFC record to 11-4. A bloodied Schaub (11-4, 6-4) raised his arms at the end of the fight thinking that he had done enough to win, and seemed surprised by the decision. Meanwhile, light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux won by submission after breaking the left arm of Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo at 2:10 of the second round. Jimmo (19-4, 3-3) -- who is from Saint John, N.B., but now fights out of Edmonton -- was bloodied in the first round and nearly had his arm ripped out of its socket before the referee stopped the fight to keep Saint Preux (16-6, 4-0) perfect in the UFC. In the preliminary fights: welterweight Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto defeated Daniel Sarafian by submission at 2:52 of the first round; womens bantamweight Valerie (Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal defeated Elizabeth Phillips in a brutal slugfest by a split decision; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin scored a unanimous decision over Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight Tae Hyun (Supernatural) Bang knocked out (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., at 2:01 of the third round; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg dropped a unanimous decision to Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto defeated Josh Shockley by technical knockout at 4:57 of the first round. Notes: The gate brought in US$1.14 million. ... Bang got fight of the night honours, as well as performance of the night. Kunimoto was also awarded for performance of the night. ... Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was in attendance. The crowd booed the former NFLer when he was shown on the big screens perched around Rogers Arena. ' ' '