Los Angeles Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning and exited the game during a 3-0 victory Sunday over the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Betts was hit in the left hand by a 97.9-mph fastball from Royals reliever Dan Altavilla and went to the ground in extreme pain. Betts, who hadn't been hit by a pitch this season, took a few minutes before walking to the dugout. He was replaced by pinch runner Miguel Rojas with the Dodgers leading 3-0, and Rojas didn't score.

Betts, 31, was 0-for-3 on Sunday to lower his batting average to .304. He entered the game leading the Dodgers in batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.407), hits (86), at-bats (280), triples (three) and walks (47) in 71 games. He also had 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in a National League-high 327 plate appearances going into Sunday.

A seven-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove Award winner, Betts was the 2018 American League Most Valuable Player while with the Boston Red Sox. He is a career .295 hitter with 262 home runs and 796 RBIs in 1,337 games over 11 seasons with the Red Sox (2014-19) and Dodgers.