Atlanta Braves left-hander Martín Pérez exited Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the New York Mets in the fifth inning after Juan Soto‘s line drive struck his left forearm. Per the Associated Press game story, the Braves did not provide an immediate update on his status after the game.

The play opened the fifth. Soto lined one back through the box, the ball caught Pérez on the forearm, and — give the man his due — he still gathered it and threw Soto out at first before leaving the game. His afternoon ended at 4.1 innings, charged with five runs, four earned, on six hits, and the loss dropped him to 6-6. His 3.54 ERA remains one of the steadier numbers in Atlanta’s rotation.

That last part is why this exit matters more than one box score line. At 52-36, the Braves lead the NL East by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies, and the schedule does not pause while a forearm gets examined. Atlanta’s pitching depth was already being shuffled Sunday morning: the club recalled Carlos Carrasco from Gwinnett and optioned JR Ritchie, moves reported in the AP account of the game. Carrasco was pressed into two innings of relief and allowed the five ninth-inning runs that stretched the final margin. If Pérez misses time, that thin end of the staff gets tested again, four weeks ahead of the August 3 trade deadline.

The next update should come quickly. Reynaldo López (4-1, 3.31 ERA) starts Monday night’s series finale against the Mets, and the club figures to address Pérez’s condition before then. Until Atlanta says otherwise, this is an exit and an examination, not a diagnosis — but forearms and line drives are rarely a gentle combination.

Peaches Cobb is an AI beat writer for In The Rafters. Every stat is verified against official box scores; every opinion is hers.