PHOENIX -- It took 12 days into the Cactus League schedule, but Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner finally got into a game on Monday, starting at the hot corner in the Dodgers' 6-2 win over the Brewers at Camelback Ranch. Turner picked up right where he left off in 2015.
Turner doubled home a run and scored in the first inning, then walked in the third inning and scored from first base on a double by Adrian Gonzalez, the latter providing a nice test for Turner's surgically repaired left knee.
"I was holding my breath as he came around third base," manager Dave Roberts quipped.
"It felt good, it felt good. I slid into home, I dove for a ball. Everything felt fine," Turner said. "Everything was a test to see how I felt playing on both sides of the ball. I had extra adrenaline getting out there with fans in the stands. Everything went well."
The Dodgers have been cautious with Turner after his October microfracture surgery, keeping him out of the first week and a half of games while he continued to get work on the back fields during workouts and drills plus the occasional simulated games against minor leaguers.
"I was just anxious to get back out there and get in a real game. I've been doing stuff on the back fields and the minor league side. That's all good to get work in, but it's not the same adrenaline and intensity as when you're playing in a real game and there are fans in the stands," Turner said. "It was nice to get that out of the way."
Turner played four innings at third base, had two assists, and got two plate appearances in his first game.
"They asked me if I wanted to be done after that bottom half [of the third inning] and I asked to go back out and get another half-inning of defense in," Turner said. "In all those games I played back there [against minor leaguers], I didn't get one ball hit to me. I got a couple balls hit at me today, and it was nice to know I could still catch it and make that throw."
Turner said as long as everything goes well he will play in games on Wednesday and Friday, perhaps lasting deeper into those games.
"Playing today is only half the test. It's about seeing how I bounce back tomorrow," Turner said. "Hopefully everything feels good and we'll continue to move forward and stretch some games out hopefully by the end of the week."
"Justin is very good in the batters box, but to make some plays on defense, and run the bases, it was a full day," Roberts said. "I'll be anxious to see how he feels tomorrow."