“NEW YORK — Initially, it appeared frightful.

The Curtis Granderson grounder with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning had something of a topspin hop to it, shooting up at Mike Lowell‘s face. As the first baseman turned his head, the ball cracked off the right side of it, catching him between the temple and the eye. Immediately, Lowell crashed on the dirt, clutching the side of his head.

“It looked bad,” acknowledged shortstop Jed Lowrie.

Yet it could have been much, much worse. In fact, Lowell declared after the game that he felt little more than a knot under the skin. Even he seemed surprised that the impact was not worse.

“When I hit the floor, [he wondered], ‘Am I still there?’ I didn’t see stars. I felt like the ball was still lodged in my head, but I never lost consciousness and I didn’t get dizzy,” recounted Lowell. “It hit right on the temple. That’s where I feel the bump. No fuzziness. I feel like I got whacked there.”

Sox trainer Mike Reinold burst out of the dugout to investigate Lowell while he lay on the ground. He was followed closely by manager Terry Francona.

Yet as everyone feared the worst, relief quickly followed. Not only did Lowell stand up on his own power, but he declared himself well enough to stay in the game. His presence proved short-lived. Lowell was replaced by Lars Anderson in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“I would have stayed in the game, but [the Sox had a lead of] 10-1 at the time, my eye started twitching a little, and I didn’t really want to hit like that,” said Lowell. “I had enough excitement for a day. But I feel fine. I feel good.”

Indeed, Lowell felt well enough to share a moment of amusement with the man who hit the ball that injured him.

“(Granderson) was great. [He said], ‘You all right?’” Lowell chuckled. “I said, ‘As long as they don’t rule it an error, I’m good.’”

Lowell got his wish. Granderson was given an infield single, and while he did leave the game, it appeared that a more significant injury had been averted. The ball off the head notwithstanding, it was one of the better games Lowell has had this year. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and reached on an error, scoring a season-high three runs.