Carlos Martinez takes 110-mph liner to ribs in return from DL

In his return from the disabled list, St. Louis Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez probably would have preferred to ease himself back into big-league action.

Instead, five batters into Tuesday's relief appearance (his first since July 19, 2015), Martinez took a 110-mph rocket to the ribs off the bat of Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson:

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)

After crumpling to the grass, Martinez eventually walked off the field without assistance. X-ray results came back negative, but it was still a scary scene for Cardinals fans, who find the team sitting just 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central race.

"I couldn't breathe, and everything started to go black," Martinez said, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. "I took a couple of breaths, and after that, like a minute (later), it was better."

Martinez now owns a 3.36 ERA across 18 starts and one painful outing out of the bullpen.