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Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is expected to miss all three games against the Phillies in Philadelphia this week with left groin discomfort, with a decision on an injured list still to be determined.
“I don’t see him coming back any sooner than Friday in New York,” manager Dave Roberts said. “As far as how long we give him, that’s contingent on how he feels each day.”
Roberts said Turner is feeling better on Tuesday, two days after he left the game in the second inning after tweaking his groin on play at third base to rob José Iglesias of a hit. The Dodgers were off Monday.
Dodgers-Phillies lineups
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Phillies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Dodgers | Pos | Phillies |
| 2B | Turner | LF | Herrera (L) |
| 1B | Muncy (L) | 2B | Segura |
| C | Smith | RF | Harper (L) |
| SS | Seager (L) | C | Realmuto |
| LF | Pollock | 1B | Miller (L) |
| 3B | Taylor | SS | Gregorius (L) |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | 3B | Torreyes |
| RF | McKinney (L) | CF | Jankowski (L) |
| P | Scherzer | P | Nola |
Any injured list move can be backdated up to three days, so putting Turner on the IL Thursday would be the same as had it been done Monday, in terms of his earliest possible return date.
Turner on the season leads the Dodgers with 100 starts — including 96 at third base — and 439 plate appearances. He’s hitting .289/.376/.491 with a 136 OPS+, 20 home runs, and a team-leading 66 runs batted in.
Chris Taylor gets the start at third base for the Dodgers on Tuesday, and figures to see more time at the position with Turner out. It’s the 12th career start at third base for Taylor, and his third this season, one of six positions he’s started at in 2021. Nineteen of Taylor’s starts this year have come at shortstop, the position he’s started at the most (217 times) in his major league career.
“I feel like if you can play short, you can play anywhere,” Taylor said last week.
Roberts also said that Gavin Lux, whose two positions are currently manned by Corey Seager and Trea Turner, will mix in time at third base on his minor league rehab assignment, “to prepare for any unforeseen thing that should happen to Justin.”
Lux is on the injured list with a hamstring strain and last played with the Dodgers on July 18. He’s never played third base professionally.
Mookie Betts, who left Friday’s game after six innings with right hip discomfort and got a scheduled day off on Sunday, was originally in Tuesday’s lineup against the Phillies, batting third and playing right field. But he was scratched. Instead, Billy McKinney starts in right field for the Dodgers, batting eighth.
An injured list stint for Betts seems “very probable,” Roberts told the beat writers on site in Philadelphia.
An IL stint is on the table for Mookie Betts, Dave Roberts said. They’ll play with 25 tonight and bring someone in tomorrow to taxi if they need to make a move.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 10, 2021
#Dodgers Dave Roberts on Mookie Betts: "Yesterday the off day, he came in just achy, sore. Basically can't play. I don't know what other tests we may do. But to envision an IL (move) happening is very probable."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 10, 2021