HOUSTON — The Philadelphia-Houston game was delayed today when plate umpire Jerry Crawford was struck in the head by Carlos Lee's bat.

Lee fouled off a 2-2 pitch from Cole Hamels in the first inning and his bat smacked Crawford on the follow-through. Crawford took off his helmet and immediately jogged to the Astros dugout, where trainers Dave Labossiere and Rex Jones met him on the steps.

Crawford had a bloody gash on the left side of his head and Labossiere put a white towel over it before leading Crawford into the Astros clubhouse.

He was taken to a hospital for tests but didn't need stitches and was back at the ballpark before the game ended with an ice pack on his head.

After a 12-minute delay, first-base umpire Rob Drake took over behind the plate and the game resumed.

On the second pitch after the delay, Lee hit a three-run homer to put the Astros up 3-0.