Cincinnati Reds

Justin Turner Returns From DL, Hits a 330-foot Single Off The Wall

The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed back third baseman Justin Turner on Thursday when the team announced that the red-headed right hander had been activated from the 15-day disabled list ahead of their four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Los Angeles Dodgers welcomed back third baseman Justin Turner on Thursday when the team announced that the red-headed right hander had been activated from the 15-day disabled list ahead of their four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Turner has missed the last 14 games with a MRSA staph infection in his right thigh. Turner was taken to the emergency room on July 29th after what was originally thought to be a pimple or an ingrown hair became infected after a 10-day road trip.

"I had a little ingrown hair and I tried to scratch," he said on Wednesday. "It just started getting bigger and bigger."

Turner was given antibiotics at the local emergency room and was diagnosed with MRSA, a difficult-to-treat infection that incurs in humans and is classified as a staph infection.

"It was scary," Turner said of the diagnosis. "It's not a joking matter."

Doctors cut out a portion of Turner's leg that was infected, leaving a gnarly open wound that was unable to be sewn shut. Turner was shut down from baseball activities for days in order for the open wound to heal.

Once healed, Turner was sent to the Dodgers facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona where he worked out and recuperated.

"I faced live pitching the last three days I was down there, probably got 20-to-24 at-bats while I was down there," he explained. "I was doing all the baseball stuff, trying to minimize how much I sweat because of the open wound.

"The hardest part was doing as much as I can but not sweating to re-infect the open wound… It was a pretty crazy program. I would literally go in the cage and take five swings off the tee, then go back in the weight room and sit down for three minutes to cool down. Then go out, do another session, come back in. It turned a workout that would probably normally take an hour and a half, into three hours because it required so much rest in between to make sure I wasn't sweating."

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Turner is batting .323 with 20 doubles and a career-high 13 home runs for the Dodgers this season. The third baseman has been a rare bright spot for the Boys in Blue as he took over the job at the hot corner allowing the team to trade Juan Uribe and Hector Olivera to fill needs such as starting pitching and bullpen help.

Turner came off the bench in a double-switch situation in the fifth inning of Thursday's game against the Cincinnati Reds and hit a 330-foot single off the right field wall in his first at-bat. Turner was given a loud ovation by the LA fans when he was announced into the game.

In order to make room for Turner on the roster, the Dodgers optioned second baseman Jose Peraza to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Peraza started two of the team's three games against the Washington Nationals this week after he was recalled on Monday.

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