Max Muncy returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup this week after missing the previous three months due to a right oblique strain.
His recovery was prolonged, came with multiple setbacks and a world of confusion. Muncy particularly had trouble when advancing to swinging the bat and was shut down on several occasions.
Muncy and the Dodgers later learned that he was dealing with a separate rib injury. “We kind of think my rib was popped out of place,” Muncy revealed.
“I was getting adjusted the whole time I was on the shelf, and it just wasn’t ever getting set back properly. So the oblique was healed, but I’d have a couple days swinging and it would be really good, the ball would be coming off hot, and I’d wake up on the third or fourth day and it would be like day one of injury.
“So we were trying to figure out what exactly was going on with that. We eventually got it figured out after I don’t know how many scans and bone scans, MRIs. Once we got it set back and then I got an injection the next day, two days later it really felt like I had never even be hurt.
“From that point, that’s why everything went really fast.”
As Muncy noted, it took him awhile to progress to a rehab assignment due to the uncertainty of his injury. Once the team determined the source of his discomfort, the process sped up considerably.
Muncy hit .286/.375/.476 with one double, one home run, four RBI, three walks and six strikeouts in six rehab games with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The 33-year-old then played a key role in the Dodgers completing a sweep of the Seattle Mariners by going 4-for-10 with four extra-base hits, six RBI and two walks in three games.
Max Muncy surprised by strong performance
Muncy admitted that he did not expect to find immediate success upon returning to the Dodgers lineup. “I would definitely say it’s unexpected, considering my timing wasn’t exactly there with low 90s velo during my rehab assignment, and all of a sudden, facing several guys throwing 100, it’s definitely unexpected for me,” Muncy said.
“But like I said, it felt good, just trying to keep things simple and got some good results out there.”
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