ST. LOUIS — Eugenio Suárez was removed in the fifth inning of Sunday’s nightcap against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium after being hit on the left hand by a pitch from Daniel Ponce de Leon. Suarez will be evaluated in Cincinnati on Monday morning after the swelling subsides.

Suárez, who earlier in the day hit his 40th home run of the season to set a new Reds record for third basemen, was batting with Joey Votto on second base and no one out when a 93.3 mph fastball ran in and hit him.

Reds manager David Bell made the decision to remove Suárez from the game, perhaps because he was one of three players (Josh VanMeter, Votto) to be in the starting lineup in each of Saturday and Sunday’s four contests.