ATLANTA — Bad things usually happen to the Rockies at Turner Field, but this could end up ranking as the worst.

Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado, possibly headed toward his first All-Star Game appearance, suffered a fractured left middle finger Friday night while sliding head-first into second base with a double in the second inning.

The Rockies’ official diagnosis was a “left mallet finger fracture.”

In a general mallet injury, the tendon around a knuckle is torn and the remedy is wearing a splint for 6-8 weeks. But when a fracture is involved, often surgery is required.

It is not known yet how long Arenado will be out or how severely his finger is fractured.

Arenado came in to score the game’s first run, but he did not come back out for the bottom of the second inning. He was replaced by Charlie Culberson.

Arenado, who earlier this season set a Rockies franchise record by hitting in 28 consecutive games, leads all major-league third basemen with 23 extra-base hits.

As he left the field, Arenado could be seen squeezing his finger.

In an apparent related move, the Triple-A Sky Sox pulled shortstop Josh Rutledge from the third inning against Memphis in Colorado Springs. He may be headed to Atlanta as Arenado’s replacement on the 25-man roster

Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp