The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2017 season Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium with a 14-3 win over the San Diego Padres, marking the second straight year they started off with a double-digit victory over their National League West counterpart.
Veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez took his normal cleanup spot in the Dodgers lineup, despite dealing with tennis elbow (right) for much of the spring. Before Opening Day contest, Gonzalez told David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports Radio that he isn’t quite at 100 percent.
Shortly after returning to Camelback Ranch from the World Baseball Classic, the elbow flared up when Gonzalez checked his swing, and it caused him to miss a stretch of games. He told Vassegh at that point there was concern over potentially missing the season opener.
Although Gonzalez was in the lineup, he’s been forced to adjust his workouts and swing as a result of the nagging elbow injury, per Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times:
“It’s still a work in progress,” Gonzalez said. “The pregame exercises weren’t good for it and made me feel weak during spring training games. We had to back off from pregame exercises and do more of a soft-tissue type of deal, to get it warmed up, get it loose.”
“I changed a little bit of my mechanics to be more top-hand heavy,” Gonzalez said. “It could be a blessing in disguise. It will make me stay back on the ball, make me do things I haven’t been doing. If it feels good, I might stick with it because by me staying back, I can track the ball a little better.”
Gonzalez went 1-for-2 with two walks, scoring two of the Dodgers 14 runs against his former team. He followed it by going 1-for-3 with one strikeout on Tuesday, though Gonzalez was hardly the main culprit as the Dodgers mustered just five hits.
The veteran first baseman had a bit of a down year by his standards in 2016, as his 18 home runs were the least Gonzalez has hit in a single season since 2012, the year he was traded to the Dodgers.
While the 34-year-old has battled neck issues in recent years, he’s never been on the disabled list in his career. What’s more, Gonzalez has appeared in at least 156 games every season since 2006.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this spring he’s hopeful to convince Gonzalez of accepting more days for rest.
