SAN DIEGO -- Braves catcher Tyler Flowers felt fortunate to be able to laugh and joke about the ugly left forearm welt that forced him to exit during the sixth inning of Wednesday night's 7-4 loss to the Padres at Petco Park.
Flowers' forearm was struck by a 93.2 mph fastball that Padres reliever Phil Maton threw with the bases loaded during what ended up being a four-run sixth. By the time the veteran catcher reached first base, a large knot had formed just above his left wrist.
"It kind of freaked me out a little bit," Flowers said. "You hear stories about breaking your arm and it just being numb. But I was able to move it around. I think it looked a lot worse than it was. Not that it feels good, but it did look pretty grotesque."
Flowers exited when he was retired by a fielder's choice and returned to the dugout with a welt that was essentially the size of a softball. He was immediately evaluated by the Braves' medical staff, who determined there was no need for an X-ray.

The immediate swelling might have been a product of a broken blood vessel. By the time the game was over, Flowers was able to tie his shoes without any discomfort.
"They did a bunch of tests," Flowers said. "It seemed like he was trying to break my arm. It didn't hurt like a broken arm, so I think we're clear on that."
Kurt Suzuki served as the Braves' catcher for the remainder of Wednesday's game and he was already scheduled to start Thursday's series finale. Flowers thinks he'll be ready to return to the lineup Friday.
Flowers has produced legitimate All-Star credentials as he has batted .333 with six homers and a .910 OPS this season. He entered Wednesday ranked second among National League catchers (minimum 150 plate appearances) in both fWAR (1.7) and Weighted Runs Created Plus (143).