For the second time in three days, the Dodgers won a game in which they suffered a huge loss.

On Friday night, future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw left the game with two outs in the top of the second inning after making only 44 pitches when he suffered what was being called “forearm discomfort” in his left arm which, in all likelihood, will require Tommy John surgery to repair.

And then, with two outs in the top of the third inning of the final game of the Dodgers 2021 regular season on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, All-Star first baseman Max Muncy suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to his left elbow in a collision with Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Jace Peterson when Peterson failed to run in the designated 40-foot runners lane in violation of MLB Rule 5.09(a)(11).

MLB Rule 5.09(a)(11) reads:

“A batter is out when – In running the last half of the distance from home base to first base, while the ball is being fielded to first base, he runs outside (to the right of) the three-foot line, or inside (to the left of) the foul line, and in the umpire’s judgment in so doing interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base, in which case the ball is dead.”

After rolling on the ground in agony for several minutes, Muncy left the game cradling his left arm.

The initial (and vague) report on the 31-year-old Midland, TX native and fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by the Oakland A’s out of Baylor University was “left elbow injury.”

During his postgame media session, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters that his All-Star first baseman would not be available for at least Wednesday’s Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium and quite possibly beyond, should they prevail.

“There was some testing, but it’s still sort of unclear what it means, really,” Roberts said. “I think that it’s still painful. I just don’t want to… we don’t want to close the door on a potential down-the-road postseason appearance. So, we’re going to kind of see how he responds over the next few days and see where it takes us.

“It’s scary, it’s frustrating, all of the above,” Roberts added. “But he’s just such a dynamic player – in the batter’s box, defensively – he just adds a lot to our ball club. It’s a big blow to him personally because you get this far, and as a ballplayer, you want to see it through. He’s an integral part to what we do.”

Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, who earned his 16th win of the season in the Dodgers 10-3 pounding of the Brewers on Sunday, added this on Muncy:

“He’s been a part of some really special things and really contributed in some huge ways for us,” Buehler said. “Obviously, I don’t know too much about what’s going on, but we’re kind of in wait-and-see mode, I guess. But he’s a big part of this team, and hopefully, we kind of avoid disaster, but I don’t know.”

A potential disaster indeed.

Play Ball!

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