The Dodgers snapped their two-game losing streak on Monday against the Minnesota Twins, but both Kyle Tucker and Dalton Rushing exited early and were out of the lineup on Tuesday.
After Tucker walked in his lone plate appearance on Monday, he was crouching in agony on the base paths, as Alex Call replaced him on second base in the top of the second inning. The Dodgers announced that Tucker left due to lower back spasms, but Dave Roberts expressed optimism about Tucker avoiding the injured list. If
he’s not able to swing the bat by Friday then the Dodgers will make a decision regarding an IL stint, per Courtney Hollmon of MLB.com.
“I think that the four days, with the off-day, would be a middle [route],” Roberts said regarding a potential stint on the injured list. “And so hopefully he has taken advantage of this, obviously to get right, but also kind of a mental reset. Hopefully the four days will suffice… If he can swing the bat, ideally he would swing the bat tomorrow and do some type of activity to go into the off-day,” Roberts said. “But if he doesn’t, then we’ll probably have a tougher decision on Friday.”
Rushing took a foul ball from Trevor Larnach to the mask on the very first pitch from Will Klein on Monday, with Chuckie Robinson replacing him after two innings. Rushing was ruled out due to a potential concussion, but there is a more positive outlook regarding the team’s slugging catcher, per Hollmon.
“He said he’s good to go,” Roberts said. “So that doesn’t carry too much weight until I hear from the medical staff. But it is good to know that he said he’s good to go. My hope is that he’ll be available off the bench in some capacity [today].”
More history for Freddie Freeman
Freddie Freeman followed up his go-ahead home run on Monday with a three-hit game in the Dodgers’ 12-3 win over the Twins on Tuesday. Freeman collected a pair of doubles on Tuesday, and in doing so, he passed soon-to-be Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltrán for sole possession of 28th place on the all-time doubles list.
It’s another accolade for what will go down as a Hall of Fame career for Freeman, as he registered career hit no. 2500 during the Dodgers’ three-game set in Pittsburgh. Freeman spoke about achieving another milestone to his career with Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA following the win.
“You keep hearing these numbers you’re approaching, people you’re passing and doing certain things. It’s hard not to take a step back and appreciate.”
The hometown hero answers the Call
Out of all the Dodgers hitters that had played in at least 10 games this season entering Tuesday, Alex Call was the only hitter on the team without a home run. That all changed during Tuesday’s romp, as Call drilled his first home run of the year against Taylor Rogers to spark a five-run ninth inning.
Call, who was born 20 minutes south of Minneapolis in Burnsville, spoke with Watson about smacking a home run in front of his family and friends.
“I had some emotion on the home run. It’s really special to be able to do that here so close to home… Just really glad I could help out tonight.”
