"I won't know until tomorrow," Suzuki said through his interpreter.

A scare was put into Seattle today when the Mariners' All-Star center fielder was hit by a 96 mph fastball from Detroit starter Justin Verlander in the fifth inning of Seattle's 11-7 loss to the Tigers.

With a runner on first and no outs in the fifth, Suzuki was drilled by Verlander's pitch. Television replays appeared to show the ball hitting Suzuki squarely on the outside of his right knee. But the team said the ball hit in the muscle just above the knee and Suzuki has a right thigh contusion. X-rays were negative and Suzuki would be evaluated on Monday.

"I just talked to him and he said 'I'll be ready tomorrow Mac,'" Mariners' manager John McLaren said. "That was encouraging. We'll see how he is tomorrow."

Suzuki hobbled halfway to first, then stopped and was checked by trainer Rick Griffin and McLaren. Suzuki gingerly made his way to the base and remained in the game. But he continued to have a slight limp and was lifted moments later after slowly advancing to second on a wild pitch.

"You could see he was in pain," McLaren said. "He tried to stay in but I said 'enough.' He started limping and that was it."

Over in the Detroit clubhouse, Verlander felt bad hitting a player he had just gotten to know at the All-Star game in San Francisco. Verlander said he held on to the pitch a little too long.

"I just met the guy a few days ago and here I go hitting him," Verlander said. "I hope he's all right. I hate to do it to that guy, he's really nice."

Suzuki's injury comes just a few days after Suzuki agreed to a $90 million, five-year contract extension that will keep him under contract with the Mariners through the 2012 season. He could have become a free agent after this season.