Already without Cody Bellinger because of lingering soreness in his left calf that was spiked on Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t have Mookie Betts in the lineup for the series finale against the Oakland Athletics due to lower back stiffness.
The Dodgers nonetheless were on the verge of completing a sweep at RingCentral Coliseum without their catalyst. But squandered opportunities eventually caught up to them and Kenley Jansen blew a save, leading to a loss in 10 innings.
“I think there was some residual from [Tuesday’s] game, and then this morning he woke up stiff and I got notified,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained. “Being we have the off day [Thursday], I wanted to give him two full days to recover.”
Roberts added his “expectation” was that Betts would return to the Dodgers lineup for the home opener on Friday. The team is due to receive their World Series rings during a pregame ceremony before facing the Washington Nationals.
As the Dodgers cautiously managed their everyday players throughout the road trip, Betts has appeared in five of seven games thus far. While the team will be mindful of providing him with rest, Betts is expected to play more than a fair share.
“The plan was to play him. Obviously, if the player doesn’t feel well, he’s not going to play,” Roberts said. “The plan is to run him out there a lot, but depending on how he’s feeling and the schedule, we’ll pick off days. But yeah, the plan is to have him out there quite often.”
Dodgers welcome Taylor back
Betts’ back flaring up added to the list of minor injuries the Dodgers incurred during their series with the A’s. On the same night Bellinger was spiked, Chris Taylor was hit by a pitch in his left elbow earlier in the game and removed.
Taylor underwent X-rays, which came back negative, and he was diagnosed with a left elbow contusion. Taylor was available to pinch-run and play the field Tuesday, then returned to the lineup and started in center field on Wednesday.
“I was actually pleasantly surprised this morning when I took some swings in the cage and it wasn’t really biting on me like I thought it would,” he said after the loss. I was definitely relieved I was able to get in there.”
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