Max Muncy was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup and unavailable for the series opener against Chicago White Sox following a day off and a right-handed pitcher on the mound as he is dealing with a left hamstring strain.
The 32-year-old suffered what manager Dave Roberts deemed minor strain in his hamstring while trying to beat out a double play in his final at-bat during the Dodgers’ series finale with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
“The last time he ran down the line two days ago, he right behind his knee, lower hamstring, there’s a little bit of a strain in there,” Roberts said. “So he’ll be down today. Potentially tomorrow be ready to come off the bench. And then the hope is he’ll be back in the lineup on Thursday.”
Muncy is set to undergo an MRI on Wednesday morning.
He previously dealt with a cramp in his left hamstring near the end of May, but Roberts remains confident it still isn’t a long-term issue.
“It is. But I still think it’s very minimal,” Roberts said when asked if the injury is in the same location. “But I think just a scan just to know what we’re dealing with.”
As of right now, Roberts said there is no plan to put Muncy on the 10-day injured list.
Muncy has been having a productive season for the Dodgers, despite his low batting average. The two-time All-Star is hitting .191/.323/.474 with 18 home runs, 45 RBI, 39 runs scored and a 115 wRC+ in 60 games.
Chris Taylor started for Muncy at third base on Tuesday.
Dodgers lineup ‘feeds off of’ Max Muncy
The Dodgers’ offense has been among the most productive in baseball, and Roberts credits a lot of that to Muncy returning to form after a down 2022 season.
“You hate to say that one guy is sort of a key figure, but if I had to pick one guy who is going well, guys feed off of Max and what he’s doing in the batter’s box,” Roberts said earlier in the season.
Muncy has since cooled off a bit since Roberts’ comments, but he has remained an imposing presence in the lineup, providing both elite power and on-base ability.
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