Texas Rangers All-Star Josh Jung Suffers Thumb Injury

Texas Rangers rookie third baseman Josh Jung has a fractured left thumb after trying to field a line drive in Sunday's game against Miami.

ARLINGTON, Texas —Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung left Sunday’s game against the Miami Marlins with a fractured left thumb after trying to field a Jorge Soler line drive in the fifth inning.

The Rangers announced during the game that Jung suffered a left thumb contusion and was being evaluated. But, after X-rays, a fracture was revealed, according to manager Bruce Bochy.

“That’s all I can give you right now and he’ll see a specialist and see where we’re at,” Bochy said after the 6-0 win. “We just don’t know yet.”

The specialist will provide a fuller assessment of the injury and a prognosis before it's determined how much time Jung will need to recover.

After Jung left the game, Josh Smith — who started at shortstop — moved to third base and Ezequiel Duran came in to play shortstop. Corey Seager had an off day.

With no one out in the fifth and two runners on base, Soler hit a screaming line drive to Jung at third base. It was catchable, but all he ended up doing was knock it down. The exit velocity on Soler’s line drive was 109.4 mph.

Fortunately, Jung knocked it down in front of him and he was able to turn a double play, stepping on third base for a force out and then relaying it to Marcus Semien at second base for the second out.

But it appeared to come at a cost. After Miami’s Josh Bell singled, Bochy came out to pull starter Andrew Heaney from the game and bring in reliever Chris Stratton. At that time, Jung saw team trainer Matt Lucero.

During a replay from the broadcast, you could see Jung showing Semien how the ball seemed to bend the outside of his glove backward, which might have torqued his wrist.

Shortly after that demonstration, Jung and Lucero left the field.

Jung went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Entering the game, he was batting with 22 home runs and 67 RBI, along with a .325 on-base percentage and a .492 slugging percentage.

Before Sunday’s game, June was having an impressive homestand, as he was batting .353 with two home runs and six RBI in five games, all in August.

Jung is considered a candidate for American League Rookie of the Year and leads all rookies with homers.

The Rangers are traveling to the West Coast this week, starting with a three-game series against Oakland which begins on Monday.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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