Left knee soreness sidelines LA's Turner

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner left before the seventh inning of Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Pirates with left knee soreness and he's expected to be out of the lineup for a few days.

Turner said the knee started to stiffen up on him after he hit a double in the first inning, and the soreness just got worse as the game went along.

"Sliding into second, it didn't feel great," Turner said. "As the game went on and on, it just got worse and worse, so I figured just get out of there and try not to do anything too bad to it. ... It just got unbearable."

As to whether this is something that Turner will have to play through for the rest of the season, Turner was unclear.

"I hope not. Hopefully take some medicine, calm down for a day or two and then get back on the horse," Turner said. 

Turner fouled a ball off his left knee in the same spot, and he said he didn't know if this soreness is related to that or not.

The Dodgers have been careful with limiting Turner's playing time this season in order to keep him, and his knees specifically, fresh. Turner had been on a schedule where he played usually no more than three games in a row without an off-day. Turner had played in five consecutive games before having a pair of days off on Wednesday and Thursday.

"Yeah, for a couple years," manager Don Mattingly said on how long Turner has dealt with knee issues. "It's always there, and then sometimes it just flares. It's something we'll pay attention to."