Excitement from the Los Angeles Dodgers mounting a comeback and securing a walk-off win against the New York Mets was tempered in some regard as it came to light Justin Turner experienced tightness in his right hamstring when scoring on Cody Bellinger’s double.
After Joc Pederson and Max Muncy hit back-to-back home runs to start the ninth inning, Turner kept the rally alive with a double down the left-field line. Bellinger’s extra-base base hit immediately followed.
Turner didn’t show any immediate signs of trouble; he joined his teammates for the on-field celebration after Alex Verdugo’s sacrifice fly and returned to throw powder on Verdugo during his postgame interview.
Turner was held out of the lineup the following night but was projected by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to start in the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Although that did not become a reality, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Turner should return in the near future, and he pointed to the club’s depth as allowing them to be cautious, via SportsNet LA:
“Our versatility is huge. It allows us to not be too aggressive with guys when things are going on. J.T. has spent a lot of time on the bases recently, which is a good thing. With that, there’s time that fatigue sets in. We just didn’t want to let it get to a point of being it’s something serious. We had the luxury with the versatility to do this. He also is incredibly aware. When he was younger, and with some of our younger players, they may want to push it. He’s got great awareness about the short-term and longterm and how to kind of balance that. We think we got in front of it and expect him back soon.”
At the time of explaining why Turner was out of the lineup for the series finale against the Mets, Roberts described the hamstring trouble as “benign.” He added Turner was available to pinch-hit if necessary and that the Dodgers, “Just wanted to make sure we stayed on top of it.”
L.A. took an early lead against the Mets and went on for a 2-0 victory, then slugged their way to defeating the Phillies. Turner wasn’t used in either game, which provided him with full days of rest.
The Dodgers looked to avoid using Turner earlier this season after he fouled a pitch off his left shin. He pinch-hit the following game and was back in the lineup the day after that.
