Cody Bellinger was originally penciled in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates but got scratched due to what the team described at the time as left leg tightness.
“Cody is doing OK,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss. “[Sunday] in the cage, during his off day, he took some swings and was working on some things, and there was a little bit of a left adductor strain.
“Got him going today, took some swings in the cage, and he still felt it, so I just felt it was still smart to have him day-to-day. He was unavailable tonight and we’ll see where he’s at [Tuesday].”
Monday’s game against the Pirates marked a fourth time in the past week Bellinger did not start. He was held out of the lineup last Tuesday due to feeling under the weather, and didn’t start the following day in the series finale against the Washington Nationals.
Bellinger then was in the lineup each of the first three games during the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks before receiving another day off. The 2019 National League MVP had started the first 33 games this season before getting his first day of rest.
On the season Bellinger is batting .221/.291/.405 with 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 15 RBI over 44 games (43 starts). Even with some inconsistencies at the plate, the 26-year-old has continued to play stellar defense in center field.
Dodgers’ options without Bellinger
If Bellinger is to miss additional games, the Dodgers figure to fill the void in center field with some combination of Chris Taylor and Kevin Pillar.
Pillar was initially due to start in left field on Monday, but shifted over to center to replace Bellinger.
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