Cardinals' Miller exits after two pitches

St. Louis, MO – St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Shelby Miller left Wednesday's start against the Dodgers in the first inning after being hit in the right elbow by a liner off the bat of Los Angeles left fielder Carl Crawford.

Crawford scorched Miller's second offering right back up the middle, and as the right-hander tried to avoid the line drive, it caught him flush on his pitching elbow.

Crawford cruised into second as the ball trickled into the outfield, while Miller remained near the mound in obvious pain.

After meeting with the training staff, Miller was removed from the contest. Michael Blazek took over on the mound for the Cardinals.

St. Louis said later in the game that Miller was removed with a right elbow contusion.

Miller entered Wednesday's contest with an 11-7 record and a 2.89 earned run average through 21 starts this season.