Philadelphia Phillies Superstar Leaves Game After Enduring Potential Injury

The Philadelphia Phillies saw one of their key starters exit the remainder of Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals after suffering a potential injury.

Mar 31, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies played out the rest of Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals without catcher J.T. Realmuto due to an injury suffered during the game.

In the seventh inning, Realmuto was hit in the throat on a wild pitch from Phillies starter Zack Wheeler on an offering to Cardinals’ batter Brendan Donovan.

The pitch hit the ground before hit bounced up at hit Realmuto, who needed a couple of minutes to recover before he walked off the field and was replaced by Garrett Stubbs.

Realmuto was 0-for-3 at the plate before the injury. He struck out twice. At the time he left the game, Philadelphia was losing, 3-0.

The veteran has put up solid numbers at the plate so far this season, as he’s batting .273 with a .333 on-base percentage and a .788 OPS. He has two home runs and four RBI so far.

That’s a promising start after last season when he slashed .252/.310/.452/.762 with 20 home runs and 63 RBI, which were also down from 2022. When he’s at his best he’s a 25-30 home run catcher. 

If Realmuto needs to miss some time, the Phillies might need to make a roster move. Stubbs is the only other healthy catcher on the 40-man roster. Rafael Marchán is on the 10-day injured list with lower back pain. He’s been on the IL since the start of the season.

Philadelphia will wrap up their series against St. Louis on Wednesday before they return home to Citizens Bank Park for a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Friday’s game will be the debut of the Phillies’ new City Connect uniforms.