Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, one of MLB's hottest hitters in the early going this season, left Monday night's game after a taking a 96-mph fastball from Reds starter Luis Castillo squarely on the right knee in the bottom of the third inning.
The good news for the Dodgers: X-rays of the knee were negative, a result that manager Dave Roberts described as a best-case scenario (per SportsNetLA).
Bellinger x-rays on his knee are negative. Hit him flush on his knee but it’s not broken. Roberts said this was best case scenario.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) April 16, 2019
Bellinger, who had a run-scoring ground-rule double in his first at-bat, is slashing .433/.513/.925 through his first 18 games. After being hit, he crouched down in pain and eventually limped slowly to first base. He remained in the game at that point, but Alex Verdugo replaced him in right field in the top of the fourth.
"It looked bad," Roberts said (via the Los Angeles Times). "That's one of those places you don't want to get hit."
"You can't miss by that much," said Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (via ESPN.com), who made an impressive first major-league start this season, going seven innings in a 4-3 win capped by Joc Pederson's two-run walk-off homer. "He's a very good pitcher, has tremendous stuff and has dominated basically in three starts. Obviously, a little wild tonight, but you can't miss by that much. That was really bad."
Roberts said he expects Bellinger to feel the typical soreness and stiffness on Tuesday that comes from being hit by a 96-mph fastball, but it doesn't appear as if Bellinger will miss an extended period of time (though it wouldn't be a surprise if he sat out Tuesday's game).
