In middle of great defensive performance for Cubs, Seiya Suzuki leaves game with knee discomfort

SAN FRANCISCO – Right fielder Seiya Suzuki was putting on something of a defensive clinic in Saturday night’s win over the Giants before a play he didn’t make forced him to make an early exit.

Suzuki, who earlier in the game both threw a runner out at second base and made a terrific sliding catch, attempted to make a running, reaching grab on a fly ball to right field in the fourth inning. He couldn’t make it to the ball in time, and it dropped in for a hit as he stumbled to the ground.

But the Cubs were more concerned with the aftermath. Suzuki departed the game with the trainer, and “right knee discomfort” was the official cause. Shaw replaced Suzuki in right field.

“The reports after he came out were positive,” Counsell said after the game, “but the most important thing is: How is he going to feel tomorrow?”

An injury to Suzuki’s right knee, suffered while he played for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, kept him sidelined when the season began. That was a sprain that prevented him from making his season debut until the Cubs’ 13th game of the campaign.

“I’m wishing it’s not a big deal,” Suzuki said through an interpreter. “I’ll wake up tomorrow, see how everything feels. If I can go from there, go for it. If not, we’ll see how it goes.”

Suzuki’s improved defense in right field has become a storyline this season, and plays like the ones he made Saturday are becoming more common. It’s only adding to the Cubs’ best-in-baseball defense, which has been reliable even as the hitting and pitching have struggled over the last month.

“Those two plays he made were pretty incredible,” center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said after the game. “Everybody knows he’s got a really good arm. It’s always fun getting to watch him show it off. He put that thing on the money.”