Max Muncy was removed in the bottom of the fourth inning Friday night due to right ankle pain and not included in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the second game of the series against the Atlanta Braves.
It’s plausible Muncy will not appear in the three-game finale at Truist Park, which would provide him with three full days of rest before being back in the lineup. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also noted the injury is more of a “mild sprain.”
“There’s been some manual tests,” Roberts said. “Today it was more stiffness, not any pain, so we just felt giving him another day of treatment, hopefully we’ll know more [Sunday]. But we didn’t do any tests outside of more manual.”
The Dodgers remain optimistic Muncy’s injury isn’t serious due to the discomfort not stemming from any one act. He did undergo X-rays on Saturday, which came back negative.
“I think we’d be more concerned if it was hitting the bag or something like that,” Roberts said after Friday’s win. “But didn’t feel it then. He doesn’t recall any incident.”
Muncy was replaced by Matt Beaty, who then was pinch-hit for later in the game by Albert Pujols. Beaty started at first base on Saturday.
Muncy leads the Dodgers in games played (54) and plate appearances (231) this season. He’s also been a steady producer with the bat since going through a prolonged stretch where walks were commonplace but not hits.
On the season he’s batting .265/.424/.530 with seven doubles, 13 home runs and 30 RBI this season.
Muncy humbled by personal milestone
Muncy’s long ball in the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals last week gave him 100 career home runs.
“It’s pretty special. It’s a pretty cool number,” he said. “It’s a lot of home runs in the big leagues and never something I thought I’d get to, especially with how my career started. So for me, it means a lot.”
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