While the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a thrilling victory over the Boston Red Sox in 12 innings to take two of three in their World Series rematch at Fenway Park, it came at the expense of Chris Taylor.
After undergoing a second X-ray on Monday, he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm fracture. Matt Beaty was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Taylor’s place on the active roster.
Taylor was hit in the left wrist by a 92.4 mph fastball from Red Sox relief pitcher Heath Hembree with two outs in the 11th inning. The pain caused Taylor to immediately drop his bat and go into a crouch as he clutched at the area.
A Dodgers trainer came out to check on Taylor, who passed an initial test and remained in the game. He kept the Dodgers in position for their win by getting to a chopper up the middle in the bottom half of the inning, resulting in an infield single that loaded the bases instead of a walk-off single.
However, Taylor was pinch-hit for in the 12th inning as the Dodgers rallied to take a decided lead. Taylor underwent X-rays, which came back negative, but persisting pain required a second examination on Monday.
Taylor is batting .261/.334/.452 with 20 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 41 RBI this season. Coming off a year in which he led the National League with 178 strikeouts, Taylor was slow out of the gate before beginning to turn the corner.
He put together a particularly impressive stretch while filling in at shortstop while Corey Seager recovered from a strained left hamstring. The Dodgers have not yet released a timetable, though it’s reasonable to expect Taylor to be sidelined at least four weeks.
Beaty has impressed since making his MLB debut at the end of April. Entering play Monday, he’s appeared in 37 games and batted .278/.297/.407 with eight doubles, two home runs and 17 RBI. Beaty has additionally provided positional flexibility by recently playing left field.
