Justin Turner took his latest step forward with the Boston Red Sox on Monday, and it was perhaps the most notable.
Merely two weeks after taking a fastball to the face, Turner returned to Boston's lineup and faced live pitching from the Pittsburgh Pirates at JetBlue Park. He reached base twice on one hit and one walk and also scored a run in the 7-5 defeat.
"It felt good," Turner told NESN's Tom Caron from Boston's dugout after he was pulled from the game. "When something like that happens my instincts are I want to get back in there as soon as possible, but obviously had to do some stuff, pass some tests and make sure I was OK to get back in there. But feels good to be back on the field."
Turner said when he learned he didn't suffer any facial fractures he believed it could be a quick return -- Monday marked 14 days since Turner was bloodied in the batter's box against the Detroit Tigers. The updates on Turner immediately after the incident were optimistic, but two weeks for his return nevertheless is notable.
"After the scan when they told me nothing was broken, obviously that was really good news," Turner said. "And I knew that was going to be a lot less time coming back then if I had a break or something in there. So at that point it was just, you know, let the scarring, healing, the stitches come out and get back as soon as possible."
Turner, who sported a helmet with a C-Flap protector Monday for the first time, understands there's still some work he'll need to put in in order to get fully up to speed, but expressed confidence he'll be able to take the field with the Red Sox on Opening Day.
"Yeah, there's still work to do but it feels good to be able to know I can come back in here and get as many at bats that I need and get ready for Opening Day," he said.
The Red Sox host the Baltimore Orioles for Opening Day on March 30.
