The Los Angeles Dodgers entered Wednesday hoping they would see history from Clayton Kershaw. They saw pain from Max Muncy first.
With their future Hall of Famer one strikeout away from the 3,000-strikeout club, the Dodgers’ starting third baseman went down with a painful-looking knee injury on a play on which Chicago White Sox center fielder Michael A. Taylor was caught stealing.
Taylor slid directly into Muncy’s lower left leg, leaving the 34-year-old writhing on the ground and holding his knee. He was eventually helped off the field by a trainer, with a pronounced limp.
Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser later told viewers that Sportsnet LA would not show replay of the injury because of how ugly it was, reporting that Muncy’s knee appeared to bend backward. The Dodgers later announced that Muncy left the game due to left knee pain.
Kershaw reached 3,000 strikeouts later in the at-bat, becoming the 20th MLB player to enter the exclusive club. Muncy’s injury took the air out of the Dodger Stadium crowd, but it still gave the southpaw a lengthy standing ovation between innings.
Taylor left the game as well after a partial inning in the field, with the White Sox calling his injury a left trap contusion. The Dodgers won the game 5-4, walking off the White Sox with a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was optimistic about Muncy’s outlook after the game.
A serious injury for Muncy would be a significant blow for the Dodgers, who have been working seemingly all season to not even get healthy, but perhaps more like 90%. Muncy has been good enough that he reached reach Phase 2 of the voting for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game before losing out on the NL third-base spot to San Diego Padres star Manny Machado.
Despite not making it as a starter, Muncy currently has a solid case to make the game as a reserve.
Muncy turned a dreadful start to the season around after a trip to the eye doctor led to him adopting glasses at the plate. The results were like night and day: .194/.309/.301 and one homer in 29 games before the glasses, .286/.414/.553 and 12 home runs in 51 games after the glasses entering Wednesday. He just finished a month of June in which he ranked second in the majors in OPS at 1.113, behind only Juan Soto.
The Dodgers can only hope Muncy avoids a lengthy IL stint. In the meantime, they’re looking at some combination of Kiké Hernández, Miguel Rojas and Hyeseong Kim at the hot corner, with top-100 prospect Alex Freeland waiting in the wings at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
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