Justin Turner, a new acquisition of the Red Sox, left Monday’s spring training game after getting drilled in the face.
Turner was in the box with two on and no one out with a 2-1 count in the bottom of the first inning when Tigers pitcher Matt Manning lost control of a pitch.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” color commentator Will Middlebrooks said on the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.
“You never, ever, ever want to see that — especially in a spring training game where a guy is just trying to get his work in and get ready for the season.”
Turner’s face was bloody, but he walked off the field and drew an ovation from the crowd at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Fl.
“Turner HBP was scary to see. Hopefully he’s OK,” tweeted former Red Sox infielder and current WEEI host and NESN color commentator Lou Merloni.
“Nothing bothers me more than seeing a hitter get hit in the head area, not saying Manning was trying to. That’s how it ended for me….”
The 38-year-old Turner left the Dodgers for a two-year deal with the Red Sox worth $22 million this past offseason.
After he joined the team, he spoke about being excited to play with former Dodgers teammates Kike Hernandez, Kenley Jansen, Alex Verdugo and Chris Martin.
“There’s a ton of familiarity with a lot of former teammates that I’ve played with [for] the Dodgers over here, so there were a lot of conversations,” Turner said in December.
“And I’m excited again to get in this clubhouse, get with this group of guys that seems like it’s a really, really, good group of guys and the potential to do a lot of special things. And you know, the goal is to win a championship.”
By: Ny Post
