Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was pulled from the team’s World Series winning game against the Tampa Bay Rays after he tested positive for COVID-19.
According to ESPN, Turner was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before coming out of the game to start the eighth inning. While the team did not give a reason for his exit initially, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the positive test after the game, telling Fox: “It’s a bittersweet night for us.”
Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan that Turner had been asked to isolate after the positive test but that no one physically stopped him from going on the field to celebrate after their win.
The veteran player was not immediately with his teammates as they celebrated the franchise’s first World Series title since 1988. But he did return to the field with his wife about an hour after the game ended and took photos with the World Series trophy, even hugging and congratulating teammate Clayton Kershaw and sat front and center next to manager Dave Roberts for a team photo.
Turner received his results during the second inning of the game, after lab results from Monday’s testing returned an inconclusive. It is still unclear why the results of the test arrived after the game started, as they typically come out beforehand. Samples taken from Tuesday arrived at the lab and Turner’s was run immediately, sources told Passan. Once it showed up positive, the league called the Dodgers and ordered Turned pulled from the game.
