Nashvile, Tenn. ? Right-hander Rick Helling, who pitches for the Milwaukee Brewers’ Class AAA Nashville affiliate, avoided serious injury Friday night despite being impaled in his left forearm by a large shard from a broken bat in a game against New Orleans.

New Orleans catcher Craig Kuzmic’s bat splintered as he fouled off a pitch from Helling. The bat split into several pieces and a piece about 15 inches long stuck in Helling’s right forearm, just above his glove hand.

Helling was sent to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to have the arm X-rayed and the wound irrigated.

“It went in on an angle, about 31â2 inches,” trainer Jeff Paxson said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in 18 years in baseball.”