Phillips endures 'most painful at-bat' ever vs. Syndergaard

Even before getting hit with a 98-mph fastball from Noah Syndergaard - a plunking that forced him to an early exit Monday - Brandon Phillips wasn't really enjoying his fourth-inning at-bat against the New York Mets right-hander known for his resemblance to a Norse god.

Before being hit in the left hand with Syndergaard's 0-2 offering - X-rays on his ring finger came back negative, by the way - Phillips fouled two straight pitches off his left shin, both of them in the same spot.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"Thor got me today," Phillips told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon of Syndergaard. "It was a sad at-bat. It didn't feel good. I'll take the 'L' today."

Though Phillips is only considered day to day, according to Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price, the 34-year-old second baseman is now set to receive treatment on both his hand and leg.

"It didn't feel too good; it's kind of swollen right now," Phillips said of his finger. "Just like I've got an egg on my shin. It's not a good day."

The evening had started off with such promise for Phillips, too. In his first at-bat, Phillips recorded an infield single to extend his hitting streak against the Mets in New York to 33 games and swiped his third bag of the year. Syndergaard kind of ruined all that, though.

"It was terrible," Phillips said. "That's probably the most painful at-bat I ever had in my career."

Syndergaard, who allowed a season-high three runs while fanning nine over 6 2/3 innings, attributed that errant 0-2 pitch to faulty mechanics, for the record.

"The first two he fouled off his foot were sinkers in, so I continued to pound him inside with sinkers," Syndergaard said. "I'm glad he's all right, that he was able to get out of that with no injury. But part of the reason was just because my mechanics weren't as crisp as they normally are."