The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the Oakland Athletics, but it was not without an injury scare as Max Muncy was forced to leave the game early.
Muncy was hit by a pitch on his left wrist area in the fifth inning. He did stay in the game until being pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, with the Dodgers announcing the injury as a left wrist contusion.
After being removed, Muncy underwent testing, which confirmed the contusion and provided some positive news.
“X-rays were negative, so I would say Max is day-to-day,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Roberts was unsure of the exact location where the pitch hit, but Muncy was fortunate to avoid having his right-hand hit, which is more exposed as a left-handed hitter.
“All I know is it wasn’t his throwing hand, it was the wrist and X-rays were negative,” Roberts said. “Very sore, so well how he comes in tomorrow.”
There’s a good chance Muncy is out of the Dodgers lineup on Friday for the series opener against the San Diego Padres, which leaves Chris Taylor as the probable option to start at third base.
While it seems unlikely Muncy won’t need a stint on the 10-day injured list, the Dodgers do have options if he ends up missing some time.
Michael Busch would seem to be the obvious answer as he’s performing well with Triple-A Oklahoma City level, but Yonny Hernández could also be recalled if the club would prefer a bench bat who would receive limited opportunities.
Still, with J.D. Martinez dealing with an injury of his own, the Dodgers may be playing short-handed unless a roster move is made. Martinez is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday.
Max Muncy tied Dodgers grand slams record
The Dodgers fell short of sweeping the Texas Rangers last month, but it wasn’t without Muncy tying a franchise record with his third grand slam of the season.
The 32-year-old joined Kal Daniels (1990), Mike Piazza (1998), Adrián Beltré (2004), Matt Kemp (2009) and Taylor (2017) as the only Dodgers players to accomplish the feat.
The Dodgers as a team lead the Majors with 10 grand slams this season. The 2004 Dodgers hit 10 grand slams as well, and the franchise record belongs to the 2021 club that slugged 11 in one season.
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