Justin Turner, a new acquisition of the Red Sox, left Monday’s spring training game after getting drilled in the face with a pitch.
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.
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, Fla.
The Red Sox said Turner was taken to a local hospital where he was being monitored for a concussion and treated for soft tissue injuries.
Turner was “stable, alert, and in good spirits,” according to the team.
“Thank you to everyone that reached out about Justin and sent prayers,” Turner’s wife Kourtney tweeted early Monday evening. “We’re home now and he’s resting (okay – maybe listening to the replay of the game).
“16 stitches and a lot of swelling but we are thanking God for no fractures & clear scans.”
Will Middlebrooks said during the NESN broadcast that he was “sick to my stomach.”
“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,” the Red Sox color commentator said.
“Turner HBP was scary to see. Hopefully he’s OK,” tweeted Lou Merloni, the former Red Sox infielder and current WEEI host and NESN color commentator. “Nothing bothers me more than seeing a hitter get hit in the head area, not saying Manning was trying to.
Justin Turner left Monday’s Red Sox Spring Training game after getting drilled in the face by Tigers pitcher Matt Manning. NESN
Justin Turner walked off the field under his own power. NESN“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 Kiké 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.
Justin Turner signed a two-year deal worth $22 million with the Red Sox this past offseason. Getty Images“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.”
