Phillies lose star shortstop to IL at the worst possible time

Trea Turner went on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, even after initial reports sounded positive.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has been placed on the 10-day-IL
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has been placed on the 10-day-IL | Mitchell Leff/GettyImages

Life happens fast. After coming out of Friday night's games with what the Philadelphia Phillies and Trea Turner called a "sore" left hamstring, the star shortstop has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain, the team announced on Saturday afternoon.

The Phillies have recalled infielder Kody Clemens from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Turner's spot on the 26-man roster.

Update: Turner expects to miss six weeks, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

Phillies lose star shortstop to IL at the worst possible time

The news came as a bit of a surprise. Following Friday's 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, Turner told reporters that he thought he'd be out a couple of days with the tweak. According to Turner, the injury occurred just a couple of steps from home plate during his electric dash from second base on a passed ball in the fourth inning.

"I don't know. I've never really had anything like this, to be honest with you," Turner said when asked about his level of concern. "They seem pretty positive in the training room, so I was pretty happy with that, or at least more positive than what I thought."

Obviously, the team's secondary testing and evaluation on Saturday revealed a more serious problem than initially thought.

The loss of Turner is a definite blow to the high-flying Phillies. The team has won 14 of their last 17 games and took over first place in the NL East on Friday with their 22nd win of the season.

Turner has been a big part of the offense early in the season. The 30-year-old is hitting .343 through 33 games, with an .852 OPS. He has scored 27 runs hitting out of the second spot in the lineup, with two home runs, nine RBI and 10 steals.

In 23 games with the IronPigs, Kody Clemens is hitting .247 with a .746 OPS, three home runs, three steals and 16 RBI.

He's making his second trip to join the big club this season. The 27-year-old first baseman filled in while Bryce Harper was on paternity leave. He started one game on April 22 and made the most of his opportunity. He went 2-for-4 and hit a ninth-inning three-run home run in a 7-0 Phillies win over the Cincinnati Reds.

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