D-backs starter Saunders leaves game after taking line drive off leg

Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders took a line drive off
his left leg in Monday’s game against the Indians.

Saunders retrieved the ball, which was hit by Indians
catcher Carlos Santana, but was credited with a throwing
error after firing it past first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Saunders threw a pair of warmup pitches after the play,
but walked off the field and was done for the afternoon.

“I could have probably stayed in the game but it was
pretty sore pushing off, and that’s where they said
‘enough’s enough, just work on it and take care of it,'”
Saunders said after his outing.

Saunders thinks he suffered a bruise and will be fine, and
D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said he removed the lefty from
the game because there was no sense in risking any further
injury this early in spring training.

Saunders’ finished with a line of 2/3 innings pitched with
one run, one hit and one strikeout.

Even with his outing cut short, Gibson said his lefty did
a good job.

“He had a lot of movement,” the skipper said. “He looked
good. Some of the pitches he threw that moved on in on the
lefties, he got a couple ground balls – he was fine.

“He made a bad pitch when he got smoked.”

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