Kiké Hernández was expected to start for the Los Angeles Dodgers during their home opener against the Detroit Tigers, but instead it was Miguel Rojas who got the nod at second base.
Hernández is dealing with a stomach illness and informed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Thursday morning. “I got a text from him earlier today that he wasn’t feeling well, didn’t sleep well and couldn’t keep stuff down,” Roberts said.
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At first, it was unclear if Hernández would show up to the stadium or not, and he ended up staying home and was unavailable for the game. Roberts is hopeful that Hernández will be back at the stadium on on Friday and available to play.
“He didn’t make it to the ballpark,” Roberts said. “I think the thing from the doctors was, get some rest, rehydrate and kind of see where we’re at tomorrow. He won’t be in the lineup to start. My hope is he’ll be here ready to come off the bench.”
Mookie Betts recently dealt with a severe stomach illness, which caused him to lose roughly 20 pounds and forced him to miss the Tokyo Series. But the Dodgers do not necessarily believe the two cases are connected.
“No, because we felt it would’ve happened earlier,” Roberts said. “Where Mookie has been on the backside of his, so I don’t think that’s the case. But not sure.”
While Betts was dealing with the worst part of his illness, no one else showed similar signs of it, either.
“Well, there were some guys that like anything when you’re traveling, in a clubhouse there’s some sniffles and things like that,” Roberts noted. “But nothing like what Mookie was dealing with.”
Mookie Betts ‘stronger’ despite stomach virus
Despite losing a significant amount of weight, Betts believes he did not lose any of his strength.
“I’m actually stronger than I was before. My body has been perfectly fine,” he said. “It’s only been my stomach. Literally only my stomach. I’ve been working out, doing everything perfectly normal. It was just hard to hold down food.”
Roberts agreed with the notion that Betts is just as strong as he was before the illness.
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