The Los Angeles Dodgers endured a bit of a frustrating game Tuesday night as they fell into a 5-0 deficit in the first inning but had several opportunities at a comeback win. Instead, they came up short in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who swept the Freeway Series.
The Dodgers reached the end of their road trip with multiple players nursing minor injuries. Justin Turner remained on the mend from right hamstring tightness, Joc Pederson and Alex Verdugo were recently saddled with back trouble, and David Freese was limited by knee tendinitis.
Their issues multiplied tenfold as Corey Seager came up lame while running the bases in the ninth inning. Seager led off with a single up the middle for his third hit, then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch.
Alex Verdugo followed with a single into center field that likely would have scored Seager but he grabbed at his left hamstring upon reaching third base. Seager was checked on by a trainer and quickly removed from the game.
An encouraging sign was he managed to walk off the field under his own power. Following the loss, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated the initial belief is Seager suffered a significant strain and will undergo an MRI, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“We’re going to get some more tests tomorrow, an MRI. Early diagnosis is, I hesitate to even put a number on it but it’s kind of like a two-plus (strain). What that means, we’ll know more once he gets the MRI. Obviously very unfortunate. The way he’s been playing and what he means to our ballclub. As far as timetable, I think we’ll know more tomorrow.”
Aside from losing a key member of their everyday lineup, Seager had started to find a rhythm at the plate as he worked into form after last year’s Tommy John and hip surgeries.
Since May 1, he entered play batting .301 (37-for-123) with 13 doubles, six home runs and 29
RBI. During the month of June, Seager was batting .389 with one homer, nine RBI and a .667 slugging percentage. He extended a season-best hitting streak to nine games in the loss.
With Seager likely bound for a lengthy stint on the injured list, the Dodgers presumably will rely on a combination of Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor to fill the void at shortstop. They initially did so last year before trading for Manny Machado.
Though, Taylor figures to receive the bulk of the time at shortstop considering Hernandez earned the starting job at second base this season.
