The Los Angeles Dodgers caught lightning in a bottle last season when Chris Taylor not only emerged into a bonafide contributor but solved the team’s need for a leadoff hitter and solidified center field.
That was despite Taylor previously spending his entire career playing the infield. Heading into the 2018 season, Taylor was again expected to fill that same role this season but was among the players who was slow out of the gate.
He began to swing the bat well but has been sidelined for the better part of the past week due to nagging hamstring tightness. Despite that, Taylor and the Dodgers are optimistic the issue will not require a stint on the disabled list.
Taylor nonetheless is not expected to be back in the lineup until Thursday’s series finale, at the earliest, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Chris Taylor tested his tight left hamstring with some running Tuesday, but Roberts said he wouldn’t return to the starting lineup any sooner than Thursday.
“Chris did some running a little bit, but there’s still something in there,” Roberts said of Taylor, who was injured last Thursday in Chicago and hasn’t started since. “We’re not over the hump. It’s kind of a luxury having him coming off the bench hitting homers and doubles.”
While Taylor has been limited since coming out of last Wednesday’s game because of the hamstring tightness, he’s pinch-hit in the Dodgers’ last four contests. Taylor is 3-for-4 in those instances, with a double, home run and three RBI.
As a means to protect against aggravating the injury, the Dodgers have pinch-run for Taylor each time he reached base. That presumably will hold true if Taylor is used as a pinch-hitter on Wednesday or Thursday.
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