Cozart remains day to day with knee, Achilles injuries

CINCINNATI -- As the Reds took batting practice on Friday, shortstop Zack Cozart was receiving treatment in the training room. He was not in the starting lineup against the Dodgers for the second straight game and the third time this week because of soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee and his Achilles tendon.
"He didn't have enough improvement to justify having him in the lineup, against a usable player," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "But I'd like to get this behind him if we can. I don't think playing the full nine innings is going to make him feel better tomorrow. Perhaps a day's rest will get him over the hump."
Cozart is batting .263 with a .755 OPS, a career-high-tying 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. But he is hitting .239 in August, and hasn't hit a home run since July 18 against the Braves.
Iván De Jesús Jr. started in Cozart's place again on Friday.
The news was more optimistic for left fielder Adam Duvall, even though he was out of the starting lineup for a fourth straight game on Friday because of a bruised left foot. Duvall was expected to be able to start on Saturday.
"One more day could make a big difference in how he feels when he's out there for nine innings," Price said.
Duvall fouled a ball off of the in-step of his foot on Monday against Miami and spent a couple of days in a walking boot. He was able to take batting practice on Thursday without any problems.

"We did some running today. Everything felt good. I'm available and ready to go," Duvall said.
When Duvall does return, he planned on wearing a protective shield over his foot to prevent another ball from putting him out. He said he's never missed an inning of a game before because of a foul ball off of the foot.
"But obviously, I never had one like this," Duvall said. "It was pretty painful, especially for the first day or two. The guys in the training room did a great job. The first night was unbearable. I didn't get any sleep. I stayed up all night. It was throbbing. But it's made a drastic change since then."
A first-time All-Star this season, Duvall entered the day batting .243 with an .813 OPS, 27 home runs and 76 RBIs.