Cliff Lee left in the third inning of Thursday's start against the Washington Nationals with a recurrence of the flexor pronator strain that sidelined him earlier this season.

Lee was making just his third start since coming off the disabled list. He has already been placed back on the DL and could miss the remainder of the season.

The left-hander indicated he felt discomfort while warming up before the game and during warm-up pitches before each inning.

"The last inning, it never fully went away and it came on a little stronger the next six or seven pitches I threw," Lee said. "It was there every throw and I just felt like if I kept throwing, something was going to snap, and I just wanted to make sure that didn't happen."