Philadelphia Phillies standout left-hander Ranger Suarez was hit by a line drive in the second inning and was removed from the game against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night because of a left hand contusion.

Suarez took a 106.1 mph comebacker to the body from the Cardinals’ Alec Burleson, knocked it down and threw to first base for the final out of the second inning.

Suarez, 28, did not allow a hit, run or walk while striking out two in two innings as the Phillies led 3-0. He was replaced by right-hander Jose Ruiz to start the third inning.

He entered the game 9-1 with a 1.75 ERA, 16 walks and 77 strikeouts in 72 innings over 11 starts, including one shutout. Suarez suffered the loss in his previous start, a 5-2 defeat at Colorado on May 26.

The Venezuela native has played parts of seven seasons for Philadelphia since his major league debut in 2018 and is 38-22 with a 3.18 ERA, 177 walks and 486 strikeouts in 526 innings over 145 games (77 starts).

–Field Level Media