The Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to a 17-4 rout over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, clinching a pivotal series win in addition to temporarily claiming sole possession of the second National League Wild Card spot.
Not all was smooth sailing, however, as the club faced a potential injury scare in the third inning when third baseman Justin Turner was hit by a pitch on the left wrist/forearm area.
Turner was previously plunked in the same area toward the end of Spring Training, causing a wrist fracture that ultimately kept him sidelined for the first seven weeks of regular season play.
Turner remained in the game and later underwent X-rays on his wrist. The results came back negative and the ill effects didn’t prevent him from starting in Sunday’s finale at Busch Stadium.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that Turner has felt some discomfort following the hit by pitch, but that he avoided a significant injury because the ball deflected off a padded area, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“He took some swings. It’s sore,” Roberts said. “He’s padded up, so fortunately it got him in one of those spots. Outside of that, we’re in good shape.”
Not only did Turner remain in the game after being plunked, but he went on to reach base in his ensuing three plate appearances to boot. He finished the contest with a 3-for-3 showing, reaching safely in all five opportunities.
Turner has been a pivotal part of the Dodgers’ push for another postseason appearance, compiling a 1.213 on-base plus slugging in August en route to NL Player of the Month honors.
The 33-year-old has since continued to tear the cover off the ball in September. He enters play on Monday with a .365/.469/.615 batting line across his last 64 plate appearances.
