It just doesn’t seem that the Dodgers can catch a break. On the same night that saw Adrian Gonzalez return from his first-ever stint on the disabled list, it appears that the Dodgers might lose their All-Star caliber third baseman Justin Turner.
In the seventh inning of Thursday night’s game, Turner was on second base. Yasmani Grandal hit a line drive single into left center and Justin took off for home. He pulled up just after touching third with an apparent injury to his right hamstring.
It’s a blow to the team, and to JT himself who was having a career type of year at third base. In 39 games played this season, Turner is sporting a slash line of .379/.453/.493/.946, which not only leads the Dodgers, but all of MLB. His defense is anything but routine, making hard plays looks easy. He’s been at the start of 22 double plays. Justin is giving the Dodgers and their fans more to be happy about since he re-signed with the team over the winter.
Turner will have scans done Friday morning to determine how severe the injury is. Manager Dave Roberts said after the game that he has “ok” strength in that right hamstring, a little above the knee.
If the injury is serious, where does that leave the Dodgers in term of replacing Turner?Logan Forsythe is set to return to the team from the DL soon, and he could see more playing time at third. Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez will also figure to see some time there. Willie Calhoun is tearing it up at Triple-A Oklahoma City, but is not currently on the 40-man roster and is unlikely to be an option at this point. I expect a rotation of Forsythe, Taylor and Hernandez for the beginning, at least. While his bat and defense will very much be missed, the Dodgers are lucky to have multiple players that can cover second and third already on the roster, making an injury like this a little easier to absorb.
Other News and Notes:
The Dodgers bullpen had a fantastic night on Thursday. Closer Kenley Jansen threw an immaculate inning — striking three Marlins out on nine consecutive pitches.
This is a great stat from Ace Of Spaeder about Kenley — he has 271 more strikeouts than base runners allowed, the greatest differential in MLB history.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Dodgers bullpen did their part. In 3-2/3 innings of work, the combination of Chris Hatcher, Luis Avilan, Josh Fields and Jansen combined to no-hit the Marlins, while striking out 10 batters. It’s only the third time it’s happened in the last 100 years.
Friday night’s matchup between the Dodgers and Marlins will feature Alex Wood, who is looking to go three straight games with 10 or more strikeouts, facing left hander Justin Nicolino, who is making his second start of the season.
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