MIAMI -- Trea Turner exited Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot Park with a right hamstring strain in the top of the seventh inning.
Down a run with two outs, Turner sliced a ball to Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez, who rushed his throw to first, bouncing it in the dirt and past the glove of first baseman Troy Johnston.
Turner, who was legging it out up the line, immediately motioned to the dugout after reaching the bag, and walked off the field. He went directly into the tunnel of the third-base dugout without assistance. He was replaced by Edmundo Sosa.
“[My hamstring was] just kind of grabbing on me,” Turner said postgame. “It didn’t feel good, felt like if I could’ve kept going I would’ve, but [I wanted to] get out of there and try to limit the damage.”
Turner dealt with left hamstring issues in May 2024, which necessitated a IL stint at the time.
“He’s gonna see a doctor tomorrow,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Save for the aforementioned IL stint, Turner has remained healthy for the better part of two years. Thomson praised the work he’s done to take care of his body ahead of Saturday’s 4-2 win.
“He’s taking care of himself,” Thomson said of Turner after resting him Saturday. “His legs get sore every once in a while, like everybody’s does, [but] he’s been holding up great.”
“It’s never a good time, really,” Turner said of the injury’s timing, “... but something like this late is not fun. And when these games really matter, you need to be out there. [That’s the] more frustrating part with that more than anything -- is coming down the stretch, playing in big games and not being able to be out there. So hopefully it's not too many [games that I miss].”
The Phillies’ leadoff hitter is batting .305 with 15 homers (including one during the sixth inning Sunday) and 69 RBIs in 140 games this season.
His injury adds to what was a troublesome day for Philadelphia, despite its late comeback attempt.
Miami’s bats were hot to open the first frame of the game, as the Marlins recorded five hits -- including a three-run homer off the left-field scoreboard from Otto Lopez -- to take a 4-0 lead off starter Taijuan Walker.
Walker rebounded with poise after the shaky first inning, though, posting five straight scoreless innings to give his team a chance to win late. Walker threw 34 pitches in the first inning, but needed just 87 to get through six. He had a seven-pitch fourth frame before following that up with a four-pitch fifth inning.
Offensively, the Phils’ production came in spurts. Philadelphia responded to Miami’s four-run first with a run in the second thanks to Nick Castellanos’ RBI triple, and scratched two runs across in the sixth thanks to Brandon Marsh’s RBI single and Turner’s solo homer.
But Lopez struck again with another homer in the seventh, this time taking a 97.3 mph fastball from reliever José Alvarado over the center-field wall. The Phils tacked on another run in the ninth on a two-out single from Kyle Schwarber to put the tying run at third, but Marlins reliever Lake Bachar got Bryce Harper to ground out to end the game.
It was a tough loss for the Phillies, who are trying to catch the Brewers (who won 10-2 on Sunday) for the top seed in the National League.
Still, Thomson raved about Walker’s moxie.
“He competed,” Thomson said. “He couldn’t find the plate the first inning, but after that he got after it. They may have hit one ball hard after that.
“I think he was just attacking the zone, getting ahead. The split was really good, had a lot of bottom to it. … He had a lot of soft contact.”
Walker began the year in Philadelphia’s starting rotation, but made all of his appearances in the month of June out of the bullpen. The Phillies moved him back to a starting role in July, and he responded by compiling a 3.14 ERA across five starts in August.
That’s a good sign for an arm the Phillies will surely depend on in the postseason.
“At first, it was just the routine,” Walker said on the adjustment from the bullpen back to the rotation, “but now I feel like I’m pretty locked in with everything. Now, it’s just trying to get quick innings.”
Save for the first, the 33-year-old righty did exactly that Sunday.