It was Joc Pederson bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, but there otherwise wasn’t much the young center fielder could celebrate Tuesday. He was removed in the 10th inning due to a neck strain.
“It’s almost like he got in a car accident,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media after his club’s walk-off win. “I think he’s got cuts on the forehead, his arm, took an elbow to the jaw, hit his head against the wall. Right now, there’s limited range of motion when he turns to the right.”
The 25-year-old said postgame his neck was beginning to stiffen up, and would require treatment overnight.
Pederson collided with Yasiel Puig during their pursuit of a drive to the right-center field gap. Puig managed to make a spectacular catch for the third out, but his left elbow went into Pederson’s neck.
They were running at full speed, and each remained down for several minutes. Pederson fell face-first into the wall and eventually rose to his feet with blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.
Puig, who grabbed at his left ribcage after colliding with Pederson, remained in the game. Both players managed to walk off under their own power.
The collision was the second of the game Pederson was involved in. The first came during the seventh inning when Cody Bellinger made a leaping catch in the gap and had his momentum carry him onto Pederson’s back.
That prompted Puig to hold out his palms in jest as to question his young teammates on what transpired. As for his collision, Puig said he walked away with sore ribs but is hopeful to not miss any time.
“To his credit, he wanted to stay in the game,” Roberts said of Puig. “He’s not feeling his best, but enough so that he could stay in the game. On the injury report (Wednesday), we might have a little something. But I expect him to be in the lineup.”
