PHOENIX -- It appears that All-Star outfielder A.J. Pollock could be set to return soon for the D-backs, especially if his performance, which included two home runs for Triple-A Reno on Friday, is any indicator.
But Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said the club will remain cautious, and that he wants to see Pollock play games on back-to-back days before he makes a return to the Major League level.
Pollock has been on the disabled list since May 15 with a strained right groin.
"A.J. Pollock last night obviously had a very good day," Lovullo said on Saturday. "Two home runs, played six and a half innings -- there was a long inning, so they decided to get him out of there and just get him off his feet. I thought it was a good move.
"He's gonna play again tonight [Saturday], so he's going back-to-back days and then we'll see where he's at at the end of the night tonight. Hopefully, I'll have a conversation with him today or tomorrow if he has as productive of a day, not necessarily with the home runs, but with the overall feeling and health of his body."
Pollock is 4-for-15 in six rehab starts in Reno. His outing Friday marked the first home run and first RBIs of his rehab assignment. He was to start in center field and bat leadoff when the Aces played in El Paso on Saturday nigiht.
Gregor Blanco and Rey Fuentes are hitting .252 and .262, respectively, while filling in for Pollock in center. The D-backs will face the Dodgers for a three-game series beginning Tuesday and then face Cincinnati at home before hitting the All-Star break.
Lovullo will stagger rotation for Dodger series
In order to switch up the looks that Los Angeles sees when the D-backs face the Dodgers next week, Lovullo will shuffle up his rotation a bit. Zack Godley, who was set to start the series-opener on Tuesday, will be pushed back to Wednesday, while Patrick Corbin will slide into the Tuesday slot. Robbie Ray will start on Thursday to close out the series.
The planning behind the move was to bookend the two lefties, Corbin and Ray, around the right-handed Godley.
"We were having internal conversations about some of the rotation moving forward and maximizing some things," Lovullo said. "Just to split up the lefties was basically the conversation.
"Who knows what could or couldn't happen. But we just felt like splitting those two guys up, going left-right-left wasn't going to give [Los Angeles] a particular look on back-to-back days or allow guys to play back-to-back days and get into a particular rhythm."