Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner returned to the lineup in Sunday’s series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers for the first time in nearly two weeks.
Turner has been dealing with an adductor injury, although the team felt that it was not serious enough to warrant a stint on the 10-day disabled list considering he was making progress with each day of rest before, during and after the All-Star break.
He finally felt healthy enough to start on Sunday, although that quickly changed as he was forced to leave the game before the bottom of the third inning.
It appears Turner’s adductor was still giving him issues. According to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group, he was removed from the game due to right groin tightness:
Official word — Justin Turner left with right groin tightness. Same issue that kept him out of the lineup for 10 days
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 22, 2018
Turner went 1-for-2 with a run-scoring double before leaving the game, and perhaps it was having to run the bases on that double that caused him problems and forced him to the early exit.
Cody Bellinger entered the game for Turner, moving Max Muncy over from first to third base. After making two errors at third on Saturday, Muncy made another one in his first inning there on Sunday.
If Turner is forced to go on the disabled list, Muncy may not be the answer to replace him at third base despite him starting 30 games there already this season. An option is to move Chris Taylor back to shortstop and Manny Machado over to third.
Machado, who has won two Gold Gloves as a third baseman, said he is willing to play whatever position is asked of him despite preferring to be a shortstop.
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