The Los Angeles Dodgers made two last-minute changes to the lineup, removing Dalton Rushing and Max Muncy from the batting order for Saturday’s game against the Washington Nationals.
Muncy was set to play third base, and Dalton Rushing was going to be the designated hitter, according to the initial announcement.
The Dodgers have announced that Muncy is out sick, while Dalton Rushing has right elbow soreness, prompting their absence.
What changed in the Dodgers lineup?
Now, in the latest lineup announcement, Kike Hernandez will fill in at third base, while Dalton Rushing was replaced by Teoscar Hernandez, who was originally going to play in left field.
Alex Call steps in at left field to take over Teoscar’s move to DH.
Dalton Rushing and Max Muncy’s injury history
In pre-game warm-ups, Rushing was seen throwing. He just came back from the injured list after suffering a tear in his UCL, which was minor enough to allow him the ability still hit as a pinch hitter.
However, to do his catching duties, Rushing needs to throw, and he was optimistic he would return behind the dish in time for the postseason.
“Honestly, I don’t really have a set date for when I’m catching, nor a set timeframe,” he said. “Whatever they tell me to do throwing-wise, I’ve kind of said, ‘Yes sir,’ and went with it. But it’s up to me to be as transparent as possible with them on how it’s feeling, and that will create the next step of how we go about this.
“Do we speed up the process, or do we slow it down? I’m just thankful that I have an opportunity to help this team.”
As for Muncy, this season, he has only dealt with a hit by a pitch to his right wrist, which was back in May, and a collision at first base back in early June. Since then, Muncy has not dealt with anything of note.
He has been struggling at the plate recently, hitting just .213 over his last 30 games and just .056 over his last seven games.
