Dodgers hold their breath after Yasiel Puig injures hand

Were things just going too well for the Dodgers?

They suffered some kind of setback Saturday, of the always scary to-be-determined kind.

While capturing a club-record 13^th consecutive road win, the Dodgers watched Yasiel Puig make a diving catch in the seventh, only to land with his glove hand bent backward as he skidded on the turf.

He finished the inning but left at the start of the eighth. The Dodgers said he has a hand contusion and called his status – drum roll – day to day. One of those we’ll-know-more-tomorrow jobs.

Of course, that’s the same thing the Dodgers said when Matt Kemp sprained his ankle July 21 and he might not be back until September.

“I feel fine,” Puig said to reporters in Chicago.

Puig said he had a similar injury during his time at double-a Chattanooga this spring and was out two weeks, but this did not feel as serious.

The Dodgers said the bruise was between his left thumb and index finger. Puig was wearing a brace on his left hand after the game.

Puig helped spark the Dodgers’ tremendous turnaround this season with both enormous talent and energy, but plays with such reckless abandon that an injury always seemed waiting around the corner.

In 53 games Puig is hitting .376, with 11 homers, 25 RBIs and 40 runs; the 40 runs are already tied for second on the club.

And if some think he’s cooled since his incredible start, in his last 11 games he’s hit .425 (17 for 40) with three homers, five RBIs and 12 runs.

The Dodgers certainly can’t afford to lose Puig for any period of time, but wrist injuries can be tricky for power hitters.