LA cautious with Joc, Taylor after minor injuries
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LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers outfielders Joc Pederson and Chris Taylor, who both slugged a pair of home runs on Monday night, were out of Tuesday night’s lineup but available after suffering apparently minor injuries.
Pederson sustained an abdominal contusion slamming into the box-seat railing in right field while robbing Charlie Blackmon of a home run. Pederson told manager Dave Roberts he was a little sore but could play. Roberts said he expected Pederson to start on Wednesday.
• Amazing catch knocks Joc out of 2-HR game
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Taylor fouled a pitch off his left foot and was sore, but Roberts said he also might not start until Wednesday night.
“He’s hobbling around, and he’s quite tender,” Roberts said.
With Pederson out of the lineup, Roberts replaced him in the leadoff spot with second baseman Gavin Lux, for his second MLB game. By doing that, Roberts said he was able to leave most other batters in their same spot in the order.
Lux went 2-for-5 and became the first Dodgers player to score three runs in his big league debut on Monday, batting out of the eighth spot.
• Dodgers' top prospect Lux makes early impact
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Injury roundup: May, Muncy
• Pitcher Dustin May, drilled by a line drive to the head on Sunday, felt well enough on Tuesday to take batting practice and will face hitters on Wednesday before his next assignment is determined. Management wants to see if the starter can be a reliever for the postseason.
• Max Muncy will start taking ground balls on Wednesday. Hitting is next in his recovery from a fractured right wrist.
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Worth noting
• Roberts said catcher Austin Barnes will be recalled on Friday. Because Barnes was called up when Russell Martin went on the bereavement list and then was sent down, he’s not eligible to be recalled for 10 days.
• Roberts said outfielder Kyle Garlick and third baseman Edwin Rios will not get callups. With the pending activations of injured players, Roberts said he wants to keep the number of active players manageable so there is enough playing time to spread around.