Cubs' Suzuki exits early with recurring knee injury
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- Seiya Suzuki left Saturday's game against the Giants in the bottom of the fourth inning with right knee discomfort after awkwardly falling while charging a pop up off Matt Chapman's bat, with the ball getting under his glove.
- The injury is to the same right knee Suzuki hurt during the WBC, an issue that had already landed him on the injured list to start the season.
- Cubs manager Craig Counsell and the training staff visited Suzuki on the field before removing him and inserting Matt Shaw in right field.
- Before exiting, Suzuki had extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single in the third inning, coming on the heels of a grand slam Thursday and two doubles Friday after an extended slump.
- Suzuki is hitting .255 with a .772 OPS overall this season.
- If Suzuki misses extended time, right-handed Matt Shaw and lefty Michael Conforto are the in-house candidates to absorb right-field at-bats.
Why it matters: The Cubs just watched their hottest hitter go down — Suzuki carried a 10-game hitting streak into Saturday and had been heating up after an extended slump — and the recurrence of the right knee that already cost him an IL stint to start the year raises real concern about another absence, forcing Counsell to lean on Shaw and Conforto in right field.
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