Chris Taylor joined David Peralta among the Los Angeles Dodgers who were forced to exit the game early this past Friday with an injury. Taylor was removed with what the Dodgers described as right knee pain.
The injury occurred on his way down the first-base line in the second inning but Taylor continued to play until Michael Busch pinch-hit in the fourth. After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the pain was occurring on the outside of Taylor’s knee and he would undergo additional testing on Saturday.
Taylor’s scan showed a bone bruise in his knee, which he thinks will only keep him out a few days.
Roberts added there’s “cartilage wear and tear” in Taylor’s knee and he will miss at least the remainder of the series with the San Francisco Giants.
“Take a cortisone shot and hopefully get some of that pain to dissipate,” Roberts said. “Right now I don’t see him going on the IL.”
Roberts further elaborated that Taylor’s right knee has been “balky for quite some time” and it simply reached a tipping point of sorts on Friday.
“I don’t think it’s something that is longer term, I think it’s something we can manage. But for C.T. to come out of a game, it’s pretty telling,” Roberts said.
While the Dodgers are hopeful Taylor will be able to avoid the 10-day injured list, Yonny Hernández joined the team on the taxi squad. Hernández not only is insurance for Taylor but Peralta as well, although the veteran outfielder quickly improved.
Taylor is batting .207/.272/.457 with 11 home runs, 26 RBI, 28 runs scored and a 94 wRC+ in 57 games this season.
Chris Taylor made MLB history with grand slam
The day before he suffered the injury, Taylor blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning that pulled the Dodgers even with the Chicago White Sox and gave him 100 career home runs.
According to MLB research, Taylor is the first player to have both his first career home run and 100th come as a grand slam.
“It’s pretty cool to do it in that fashion,” Taylor said of reaching 100 career homers. “Obviously a big momentum changer for us. Getting a series win was the biggest thing. We’ve kind of been in a slump, so to speak, and tonight felt like a momentum changer. Hopefully we can kind of ride that and get on a roll here.”
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