The Los Angeles Dodgers went into Saturday’s doubleheader with the San Francisco Giants without their full deck of players, and lost another in the process. Yasiel Puig made a spectacular catch in Game 1, sacrificing his body to help Walker Buehler escape a jam.
Puig’s running grab took him flush into the wall off foul territory in right field. His left shoulder and hip took the brunt of the collision. Puig immediately fell to the ground, managed to show he made the catch, but remained down in obvious pain.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ran from the dugout to check on his starting right fielder, who managed to walk off the field under his own power. But misfortune would strike in Puig’s first at-bat after that sequence.
He fouled a pitch off his left foot and was hobbled until being retired. Roberts at that point made the decision to remove Puig from the game.
He didn’t appear in the nightcap of the twin-bill, and after x-rays revealed a contusion, Puig is also ruled out for Sunday’s series finale, per Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA:
Puig not available tomorrow (contusion on left ankle).
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) April 29, 2018
In addition to the ankle trouble, Puig is also dealing with hip soreness as a result of his violent collision with the wall. He joins Matt Kemp as ailing outfielders on the active roster, and Kiké Hernandez’s availability is in question as he’s under the weather.
Kemp was removed from the series opener after experiencing tightness in his left quad. Cody Bellinger logged seven innings in right field after Puig was removed.
The Dodgers attempted to shore up their sudden lack of outfield depth by recalling Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
