ATLANTA -- Braves catcher Tyler Flowers left Thursday's season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies after injuring his left oblique while batting.
In his first at-bat of the season, Flowers fouled off a pitch and a winced in pain before heading straight to the clubhouse.
He was replaced by Kurt Suzuki.
Flowers had surgery on both his left wrist and forearm after the 2017 season, the result of being hit by 20 pitches over the course of the season. But the Braves announced that he left the game with "left oblique discomfort.''
The 32-year-old Flowers is coming off one of his best years, hitting a career-high .281 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs. He combined with Suzuki to give the Braves one of baseball's most productive catching duos.