Lost amid the celebration of Clayton Kershaw’s 3,000th career strikeout, and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ come-from-behind win Wednesday night, was Max Muncy’s grotesque knee injury, which he suffered in the same at-bat.
The Dodgers were hoping for good news after Muncy exited mere pitches before Kershaw became the 20th pitcher, and fourth left-hander to reach the milestone, after a scary leg injury sustained during a tag play at third base.
Muncy left the game after tagging out Michael A. Taylor on a caught stealing in the sixth inning. Muncy was slated to have an MRI on Thursday.
Three pitches later Kershaw K’d Chicago White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra on a slider for his milestone strikeout.
What Happened To Max Muncy’s Knee?
With one out, and the Dodgers trailing the White Sox 4-2, Taylor took off for third base on the first pitch of Capra’s at-bat.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith popped up quickly and delivered a high throw that Muncy caught then tagged Taylor on the helmet for the second out.
But because Smith’s throw was high and into the runner, Taylor’s helmet hit Muncy’s knee while sliding, which bent his leg the wrong way. SportsNet LA crew was so grossed out by the apparent injury that it did not air replays.
Muncy was helped off the field by members of the Dodgers athletic training staff and manager Dave Roberts. Despite how it looked, Roberts was hopeful that Muncy avoided structural damage to his knee.
“A lot of the tests that they did right now, we feel optimistic, and I think that our hope is that it’s a sprain,” Roberts said according to MLB.com. “So obviously, for the next few days, I’m sure he’ll probably be down, but again, the MRI tomorrow will show more.”
Kiké Hernandez replaced Muncy at third base.
Roberts would not speculate whether Muncy would need to go on the injured list, saying “We’ll just wait and see what the MRI shows.”
The Dodgers scored three in the ninth inning and won 5-4 on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off single.
How Important Is Max Muncy To The Dodgers?
Muncy may not be a household name, especially while playing for the star-laden Dodgers. But he is one of their most important players.
Muncy plays third base every day and ranks fourth in OPS+ (134) among qualifying Dodgers, behind only MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman.
But what makes this more disappointing for the Dodgers and their legions of fans is the fact Muncy has been on a tear. Over their past 47 games, Muncy is slashing .304/.422/.588 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (28).
Muncy has raised his batting average more than 70 points to .250. Yet more importantly, LA is 29-18 in that span and has raised its lead in the National League West to eight-and-a-half games.
“We’re all thinking about Munce right now,” Kershaw said, according to MLB.com. “He’s a huge part of our team, made a great play there. ⦠We’re all holding our breath that Munce is going to be OK. He’s obviously a huge part of our team, and especially the last two months, he’s been unbelievable.”
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