Guardians Starting Pitcher Exits Game After Being Hit In Leg By Line Drive

Cleveland Guardians' Ben Lively left his start against the Chicago White Sox after suffering an apparent leg injury.

Sep 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Ben Lively (39) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The worst sight in any sport is an athlete on the ground, writhing in pain. Unfortunately, that was the scene that played out for the Cleveland Guardians in game two of their series with the Chicago White Sox.

In the bottom of the second inning, Ben Lively was struck in the leg/hip area by a line drive hit by Dominic Fletcher. The ball was traveling 96.4 mph when it made contact with Lively, and he wasn't able to get his glove on the ball to take some of the speed off of it.

Lively immediately dropped to the ground and stayed there for a few minutes while Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and the team trainer came out to check on him. Eventually, Lively was able to get up but needed help getting back to the dugout. One positive sign in all of this is that Lively was able to take the last few steps under his own power.

Unsurprisingly, Lively did not return to the game, and Pedro Avila came on in relief for Cleveland's starter. Lively pitched 2.0 innings, gave up one hit and struck out two batters when he was forced to exit.

Sep 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Ben Lively (39) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Lively has hit a little bit of a rough patch over his last few starts. However, he's still put together an impressive season, given this is his first time in a rotation as a full-time starter. Lively has been critical all year in providing Cleveland with some much-needed consistency.

The 32-year-old came into Tuesday night's game with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 26 starts.

The severity of Lively's injury is still unknown. Hopefully, this doesn't force the starting pitcher to go on the injured list. Cleveland is still scrambling to put together their five-man rotation, with Alex Cobb being considered day-to-day with the blister on his finger.

We'll just have to wait to see what updates Vogt has following the game.