Marlins starter Eury Pérez leaves after striking out 9 in 4 innings because of right hamstring spasm

TORONTO (AP) — Miami Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez left Wednesday’s loss at Toronto after four shutout innings when his right hamstring spasmed while he was stretching in the dugout.

Pérez was limbering up to come out for the fifth when his muscle spasmed and he sat down in pain. He was removed from the game and needed assistance from a teammate to descend the dugout steps into the clubhouse.

“I was just having a conversation with my pitching coach and suddenly I felt tightness right there in my leg and I couldn’t get up,” Pérez said through an interpreter. “On a scale from one to 10, I would give it a 10. It was very painful. I knew I was not going to be able to go out there.”

Pérez said he felt a little better after the game, saying the pain had dropped to seven out of 10.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Pérez will undergo imaging on Thursday’s off day.

Michael Petersen replaced Pérez, who set a season high by striking out nine before exiting.

Pérez allowed three hits, all singles, and didn’t walk a batter in Miami’s 2-1 loss. He threw 73 pitches, including 48 strikes.

“He mixed in everything, certainly had a good heater,” McCullough said. “I saw several up over 100 mph.”

Pérez struck out a career-high 11 against the Mets last September 27, his final start of 2025.

After Pérez hit Toronto slugger Kazuma Okamoto in the back with a first-pitch, 97 mph fastball in the fourth, he appeared to stare into Toronto’s dugout. Blue Jays manager John Schneider yelled at Pérez, but the situation did not escalate.

“There was no intention at all to do that,” Pérez said of hitting Okamoto. “(Schneider) was saying something, I didn’t know exactly what it was, so I was looking at the dugout because they were trying to get my attention.”

Marlins pitchers hit six batters in the three-game series, including four on Tuesday.

“Collectively, as a group, you get tired of it when Oak takes 97 in the back” Schneider said. “(Pérez) threw the ball really well today, though.”

Toronto trailed 1-0 when Pérez left but tied it when Nathan Lukes hit an RBI double off Petersen with two outs in the fifth.

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