Dodgers News: AJ Pollock Exits Game with Apparent Leg Injury
The health of the Dodgers took another hit on Saturday night after the team lost outfielder AJ Pollock to an apparent leg injury. The injury occurred when Pollo made an awkward slide attempt into third base for the final out of the first inning against the Giants.
Immediately, he was seen grabbing at his right hamstring.
— Dodgers Dougout Podcast (@Dodgers_Dougout) September 5, 2021
UPDATE
The Dodgers officially termed it a right hamstring strain for AJ.
Cody Bellinger came into the game replacing Pollock on defense. Cody was inserted into centerfield with Chris Taylor sliding to left to fill in for the injured Pollock.
For the most part, AJ has stayed relatively healthy in 2021, save for an early-season bout with — you guessed it — a hamstring issue. In 107 games this year, the 33-year-old has a .297 batting average with 16 home runs and 58 runs batted in. He had an RBI double in his lone at-bat on Saturday night.
If Pollock heads to the injured list, the Dodgers may likely recall infielder/outfielder Matt Beaty from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
More to come on this story.
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Hopefully day to day. He has been really solid this year.
Best wishes to AJ……
On the flip side…. his replacement, Cody Bellinger….
His plate appearance tonight, swinging on the last 2 pitches where he literally stumbled down to his knees on his follow thru, just goes to show how far out of whack he is…. and I like Belly. It truly was sad to witness.
The Dodgers at this point, need to do a major gut check about how/what Belly can deliver at this point. He seems to digress with each at bat. Many of his problems now are mental, he is trying to do too much.
It is now painful to watch the fall of a tremendous talent…..
I love how your Pollo typo in the article made my wife and I laugh hysterically. (Pollock) Fish—> Chicken (Chicken). Go Dodgers!
Actually not a typo! They call him Pollo so I call him Pollo!
Watching them carry him off the field, that’s either out for the regular season, or out for the year. Too bad, he’s been really good since last season. Not sure what he was doing trying to steal third with 2 out. Wouldn’t it be great if Belli could get hot, it would help if he kept his eyes open when he swings.
Pollocks lame. Unnecessary attempt and he’s out 2-3 weeks at the worst time. I’m guessing he won’t hit much in the playoffs either
I know that the Dodgers wanted to be ultra-aggressive in the 1st inning tonight, they were pushing the envelope and it worked with 3 runs scoring, but A.J. got too caught up in the push to really put the hurt on the Giants and he made a dumb, dumb, base running mistake and it cost him big time. The awkward slide only compounded the mistake. I feel badly for A.J. and the ballclub but he has no one to blame but himself–just a stupid play, made by a player who already missed time earlier this season with a hamstring injury (the other leg) and who has a long history of being injury prone.
Tough injury for A.J. and I bet he’s second guessing himself for either attempting to steal 3rd with 2 outs or for panicking on the pick off throw because he was too far off the bag and breaking for 3rd. Compounding his questionable base running, he then attempts to pull up from his slide and injures his hamstring. 3 runs were already in, he was already in scoring position with Taylor up, why in the world would A.J. even be thinking of trying to get to 3rd? He violated the Golden Rule of base running–which is never make the final out at 3rd base, especially when it short circuits a rally. Diagnosis is a Grade 2 hamstring tear–he’s probably out for 3 weeks, minimum. He’s a competitor but that was a decision he wished he had never made.
If this is a grade 2 hamstring pull, Pollack will be out 2 or three weeks, which puts his return just prior to the postseason. I hope it’s less severe. I agree with Dodgers taking an aggressive approach on the bases. It doesn’t always work out. But it sets an aggressive tone. Bring Beaty up, and leave Bellinger on the bench. Mookie, Taylor, and Beaty should be the outfielders until Pollack returns. Bellinger should only be used as a periodic replacement for Betts when his hip needs a rest. I don’t know how fast you can bring a player up from the minors, but tomorrow is a big game, with the division lead on the line. If it’s possible to make the move in less than 24 hours, Beaty should be in the lineup tomorrow.
I agree with both your and Doug’s comment about Belli. The only issue with this situation is that for some reason Roberts seems to have a bug up his butt for Beaty, Beaty’s defense is clearly not up to what Belli can provide, though I don’t believe that Belli’s mind is in a good place at all, and at some point that is going to carry over to his defense. Plus Beaty is hitting somewhere near 100 points higher and usually gives a good at bat with some patience. If they do call up Beaty there is no reason he is not already in LA and with tonight’s game being a late afternoon start that should not be a problem.
I have no idea why Matt Beaty was sent down while they kept a player hitting <170. Matt Beaty can catch balls too.
The prospect of Bellinger essentially replacing Pollock in the lineup is very worrisome. Pollock was hitting right at .300 with power and has been one of the Dodgers’ best clutch hitters. Bellinger, so far this season, has been one of the poorest hitters in MLB. It’s a huge downgrade. We’ll see how this goes. One thing is certain, it becomes critical now, maybe even mandatory, that Betts hits much more consistently and that Taylor, Muncy and JT get back on track. The Dodgers are scuffling enough offensively as it is–they can’t afford any more issues there, even with the great pitching they continue to get.
I like muncys game, but all this mvp talk I thought was laughable. Now I understand: he helps keeps bellinger out of the lineup. Coach won’t do it, and so automatic mvp votes from me. Pollock for mvp!!!!
Pollock laying on the gurney wondering why DR had him try to steal 3rd against Posey with 2 outs.
I guess we were all wondering that also….