Trea Turner avoids injury after fouling ball off knee

Despite leaving Saturday night’s 9-1 win over the Twins after fouling a ball off his right knee, Turner said the whole ordeal — one that left him on the ground for a few moments — looked much worse than it actually was.

“Watching a replay, I can see how the trainers and everyone was like, ‘Oh no, that looked really bad,’” Turner said. “But I just couldn’t catch myself. I couldn’t stop spinning and falling backwards, and thankfully it worked out.”

Turner was not in the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale, but interim manager Don Mattingly said he was available off the bench if needed.

“He probably was good today,” Mattingly said. “But I don’t like taking chances with his legs because he [could] end up running differently then he’s got a hamstring or he’s got a hip or something going on. … So it’s just kind of a natural, easy decision with Trea, just because you want to be more cautious with him than some other guys.”

Though Turner fouled the pitch off his upper right leg, he also landed hard on his ankle when he went to the ground. He eventually walked gingerly off the field alongside Mattingly and head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit.

Turner was replaced by Justin Crawford, who grounded out on the next pitch. Defensively, Edmundo Sosa moved from left field to take Turner’s place at shortstop.

Much of the initial pain quickly subsided, and it was deemed Turner did not need any X-rays or imaging.

“I’ll be sore,” Turner said. “But I’ll be all right.”