AJ Pollock remains unavailable for the Freeway Series finale, missing a second consecutive game due to a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, but it appears the Los Angeles Dodgers won’t need to place him on the 10-day injured list.
“It’s continuing to respond well with treatment,” manager Dave Roberts said before the rubber match with the L.A. Angels. “We’ll stay away from him today, expect him to go in for treatment at Dodger Stadium on the off day, and Tuesday, depending on how it feels, we’ll make a lineup decision then.”
Pollock suffered the injury in the sixth inning of Friday’s loss at Angel Stadium. Two sinking line drives were hit into left field, with both dropping in front of Pollock, and the second being when he came up limping.
“Right now, as I understand it, it’s a Grade 1 (strain). So he’s day-to-day. It’s not, right now, an IL situation,” Roberts said at the time.
The Dodgers nevertheless had Luke Raley join them in Anaheim in the event Pollock had to be placed on the IL as the series continued. Pollock has previously avoided the IL earlier this season as he overcame left groin tightness.
The Dodgers electing to wait until Tuesday for a potential roster decision doesn’t come with much cost. Teams are permitted to backdate an IL stint for as many as three days, which would be Saturday in Pollock’s case.
Pollock found swing
On top of further cutting into what’s become razor-thin depth in the outfield, potentially losing Pollock would take one of the Dodgers’ better bats away. He recently refined some mechanics and turned a corner after a slow start to the season.
“I just feel like I’m in good positions to hit right now. I felt like early on — especially the first series — just wasn’t in the right spot,” Pollock recently said. “I was kind of grinding through a couple other series but was able to piece together some at-bats.
“It’s been a process. I feel like I’m in a good spot right now, for sure.”
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