Justin Turner suffers shin injury and won’t start against Reds on Saturday
Reporting from Cincinnati — Justin Turner wasn’t hit by a pitch Friday after getting plunked in four straight games, but the Dodgers third baseman still didn’t avoid another dose of pain in the batter’s box.
Turner fouled a ball off his left shin in the third inning of the Dodgers’ 6-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds and eventually exited the game with a contusion.
Turner said he was initially moving around fine. He finished the at-bat and went through the tests the Dodgers’ training staff conducted without too much trouble. Soon, though, it was apparent he had to come out.
“It swelled up huge,” Turner said. “I mean, it looked like a baseball was coming out of my shin.”
X-rays on the 34-year-old Turner’s shin were negative, but manager Dave Roberts said the third baseman won’t be in the starting lineup Saturday — and perhaps longer. Max Muncy will start at third and Matt Beaty will make his first career major-league start at first.
Turner grounded out after fouling the pitch off his leg in his second at-bat. He stayed in the game to play in the field in the third and fourth innings before David Freese pinch-hit for him in the fifth.
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“The one thing that’s consistent is it never hits the shin guard,” Turner said. “You wear all that stuff and it hit right above it. So none of them feel good but, hopefully, do as much as I can tonight and come back and feel better tomorrow.”
Turner entered the night with a hot bat, batting .327 with a 1.156 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and six home runs in 13 games since April 29.
Twitter: @jorgecastillo
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