Kurt Suzuki leaves game after being hit in head by bat

Kurt Suzuki, catching Sunday afternoon’s game against the Padres, was forced to leave after the top half of the second when he was struck on the head by a swing from San Diego catcher Raffy Lopez.

Suzuki initially stayed down before walking off the field on his own power. He was seen discussing the situation with team medical staff in the dugout as the Braves batted in the bottom of the inning, and was replaced by Tyler Flowers.

The Braves do not have any other catchers on the 40-man roster, so would need to shuffle some paper if Suzuki needs to miss any time.

The 34-year-old has already been worth 1.0 fWAR in 180 plate appearances. He has hit seven homers and put up a 117 wRC+ on the heels of his best offensive season (129 wRC+) in 2017. Braves catchers collectively are fourth in MLB in hitting and eighth in fWAR, which includes a handful of ineffectual PAs from Chris Stewart and Carlos Perez, who filled in while both Flowers and Suzuki dealt with injuries early in the year.

Stay tuned for an injury update as it becomes available.