Guardians Pitcher Abruptly Exits Start With Apparent Injury

Cleveland Guardians' Ben Lively left his start after the third inning with forearm inflammation.

Apr 26, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively (39) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The last thing the Cleveland Guardians rotation needs is an injury to one of the most consistent arms in their pitching staff. However, they may face that predicament as Ben Lively abruptly exited his seat on Monday night.

Lively coasted through the first 3.0 innings of his start against the Milwaukee Brewers, but never started the fourth inning.

After taking a few warm-up pitches ahead of the fourth inning, Lively clearly felt some discomfort, which is when Stephen Vogt and the team's head trainer met with him on the mound.

It didn't take long for the group to realize Lively couldn't continue, and he ended up walking back into the dugout, his night over.

The team announced that Lively left the start with forearm inflammation.

Lively ended up throwing 45 pitches, giving up one hit, walking two batters, and striking out one batter.

Jakob Junis eventually emerged from the bullpen to relieve Lively from the game.

May 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Ben Lively (39) delivers a pitch in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Guardians don't have much starting pitching depth, so losing Lively for an extended period of time could be extremely costly for the team that entered the night with the second-best record in the American League.

Lively is a key piece to Cleveland's bullpen and has been one of the Guardians' most consistent pitchers since joining the rotation in 2024.

Lively entered Monday's game with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP through the first nine starts of the year.

We'll have to wait and see what Vogt says about this injury after the game. Hopefully, it won't force Lively onto the injured list for a prolonged period of time.

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