PHILADELPHIA -- Dodgers All-Star third baseman Justin Turner was removed from Thursday's 5-4 win over the Phillies in the second inning with a right thumb contusion, one inning after being hit by a Mark Leiter pitch. X-rays were negative.
Turner, who tied Alex Cora's 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers record when he was hit by a pitch for the 18th time, was struck on the top of the thumb by the 91-mph four-seamer. Turner was checked by a trainer and manager Dave Roberts, took his base and played defense in the bottom of the first inning without a ball being hit his way.
But when the Dodgers came out of the bottom of the second, Turner had been replaced at third base by John Forsythe, who started at shortstop because Corey Seager was sidelined with a right leg contusion suffered Wednesday night when he fouled a pitch off the leg.
"Any time you get hit in the hand, it's a little scary," Turner said. "The fact I stayed in and threw the ball in the bottom of the inning was a good sign. I went in for X-rays anyways, and they came back negative. I think I would have been fine throwing, but don't know if I took another at-bat. If I were to get jammed, it probably would have made it even worse. Dave and I agreed to be cautious with it."
Turner seemed annoyed more that the pitch was elevated than that it was inside.
"I usually don't mind it, but getting hit in the hand area … when it's in the tricep or upper back it's not a big deal," he said. "Getting hit anywhere in the hand is scary. It's just a little swollen, we'll treat it day by day and see how it feels."
Turner came into the game as one of the club's few productive hitters during the current swoon that had seen the Dodgers drop 20 of 25 and lose more than half of what was once a 21-game division lead. Turner ranks third in the National League with a .321 average and a .413 on-base percentage.