Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Saturday’s game added a new wrinkle to the growing list of things the Dodgers are missing of late, but the 6-5 loss to the Brewers was also a chance to take inventory of what’s still in stock, with 22 different Dodgers appearing in the game.
Will Smith was one of the few Dodgers hitting of late, and though he didn’t even start this game he extended his hitting streak to four games. His two-run triple off Drew Rasmussen gave the Dodgers two go-ahead runs in the 11th.
Where there s a Will, there s a way. pic.twitter.com/gnYpASqKFj Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 2, 2021
Photo by Cooper Neill/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly hasn’t yet pitched for the Dodgers this season, and while he’s technically on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, the team has been quite vague whenever talking about specifics.
Things became more clear on Friday in an interview with WEEI radio in Boston, when Kelly said he had “fairly significant” right shoulder surgery on November 10, performed by Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Kelly explained the timeline:
“We found some cysts,” Kelly explained. “My shoulder hasn’t been good since the end of 2019. But during my suspension after the thing with the
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Brusdar Graterol is the latest Dodgers reliever to be placed on the injured list, placed on the 10-day IL on Thursday with right forearm tightness.
The decision to place Graterol on the injured list came close to game time, so manager Dave Roberts did not have a lot of information immediately after the game.
“Yesterday he felt like he could pitch, and today he felt like he couldn’t,” Roberts said. “We want to make sure we take care of the player, and if he feels like he can’t throw, be proactive and put him on the IL. Not knowing what was going to happen tonight, with a bullpen game tomorrow, it was an easy decision.”
Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
Zach McKinstry is slowly but surely working his way back from a strained right oblique, an injury that will take him next to the Dodgers facility at Camelback Ranch in Arizona, with no defined timetable for his return to the majors.
“A lot of guys say, ‘Once it feels 100 percent, even take a day, just to make sure that it is 100 percent,’ and just kind of take it slow,” McKinstry said Monday. “You don’t want it to really nag all year, so just take it slow and come back ready to go.”
McKinstry said he felt something in his side during batting practice before Thursday’s series opener against the Padres. He was scratched from the lineup that night, then placed on the 10-day injured list Friday.
The Dodgers and Reds have the two best wRC+ in the National League, own the top two NL batting averages, and rank third and first, respectively in runs scored per game. The Dodgers lead the NL in on-base percentage (.346), and the Reds lead in slugging percentage (.450).
These are two good offenses, but both are coming off putrid weeks. And they meet for three games beginning Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
Even a pair of solid offensive games Saturday and Sunday couldn’t save the Dodgers from a losing week, and even with those 12 runs over the last two games the club is averaging under three runs per game and hitting .174/.289/.298 over the last eight.