Willson Contreras can’t stop getting hit by pitches, and he seems to believe his Cardinals teammates are partially to blame.

“Every hit by pitch is scary,” the star first baseman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to the Pirates, during which he was hit for the second time in a week. “I wish it hit me in a different spot. Every hit-by-pitch on the hand is really scary… Probably, it can be bad luck. It can be they’re trying to go in and off the plate. And we’re not protecting anybody, [so] that’s going to keep happening.”

Contreras, who has been hit by an MLB-high 14 pitches this season, seemed to be insinuating that St. Louis’ pitchers aren’t sticking up for him by not hitting opposing batters in retaliation. 

“I know they’re not trying to hit me in the hand,” Contreras added. “I’m a human being. It gets old. I want to play. I want to stay in the game. I don’t know what to say about it. Protect myself, and hopefully somebody protects me.”

Tuesday’s hit-by-pitch was particularly harmful for Contreras, who underwent X-rays on his left hand after Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes hit him with a fastball in the fourth inning. 

The tests came back negative, according to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, and the Cardinals have listed Contreras as day-to-day.

A three-time All-Star, Contreras is hitting .248 with 11 home runs and 51 RBIs this year. 

He signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract with the Cardinals in December 2022 after spending the first seven years of his MLB career with the Cubs. 

The 33-year-old was hit by the most pitches in the majors in 2020, with 14 during the pandemic-shortened season. 

He was hit by the third-most pitches in MLB in 2022 with 24, although he’s on pace to top that number this season with ease.