The Esthenhome plate umpire in the New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies game on Sunday was carted off the field after he took a broken bat to the neck in a scary moment.

Nick Mahrley was behind the plate for Sunday's contest, and the incident happened in the bottom of the fifth inning at Yankee Stadium. Giancarlo Stanton was up at the plate when the Yankees slugger's bat broke as he swung. The broken piece of bat went right to Mahrley's mask and neck. Mahrley immediately went down, and Rockies catcher Drew Romo immediately checked on him. Stanton got a bloop hit off the swing and went to check in on Mahrley afterwards.

Medical personnel arrived on the field and attended to Mahrley. He was put in a neck brace and stretcher before he was carted off the field. The Rockies sent out words of encouragement to Mahrley on social media.

Crew chief Marvin Hudson, who was at first base, took over behind the plate, and second base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt moved from second base to first base. If Mahrley needs to miss time due to the injury, the crew can recall part-time replacements from Triple-A to replace him.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.