Muncy exits after HBP in his third game off the IL

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was removed from Friday night's series opener against the Giants one half-inning after being hit by a pitch on the right hand/wrist area in the top of the eighth.

X-rays came back negative on Muncy, whose hand stiffened up. He was worried that it could lead to him making a bad throw that would cost his team the ballgame.

Instead, an anemic offense set up a wild turn of events in the late innings that sunk Los Angeles.

Two innings after Muncy exited, the Dodgers fell to the Giants, 5-1, when Tanner Scott gave up a walk-off grand slam to Patrick Bailey in the 10th inning. Los Angeles missed out on a chance to gain ground in the standings on a night that San Diego also lost, instead maintaining its 2 1/2-game lead in the NL West.

With one out in the top of the eighth inning, Muncy took a 92.2 mph sinker from Giants lefty Joey Lucchesi off his hand. Manager Dave Roberts and a Dodgers trainer came out to check on Muncy as he walked toward first base.

Following a lengthy conversation, Muncy initially stayed in the game. But when the Dodgers took the field for the bottom of the eighth, Muncy was replaced at third base by Miguel Rojas.

"I expect him to be in there tomorrow," Roberts said after the game. "Where he got hit … he just felt unsure about throwing the ball across the diamond in a tight ballgame. So I thought it was smart to get him out of there and get treated on it, and hopefully be in there tomorrow.”

Muncy went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk in his third game since being activated from the injured list on Monday. Muncy had two extended IL stints this year, first for a bone bruise in his left knee and most recently for a strained right oblique.