The Los Angeles Dodgers enter Wednesday night on a three-game winning streak aiming to sweep the Cincinnati Reds despite missing Alex Call and Freddie Freeman. Call suffered a sacroiliac-related lower back flare while running from second to third and was removed after a pinch-hit appearance; he has not yet had X-ray or MRI and the team expects more clarity by Friday. Freeman is coping with a recurring neck stinger radiating to his shoulder and is expected to return after the upcoming off day. Michael Conforto starts in left and Kiké Hernández is at first, while Hyeseong Kim and Max Muncy progress toward returns.
Call entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning on Tuesday night but was then replaced by Justin Dean to begin the seventh. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game it was due to Call experiencing some lower back trouble. "He's got an SI (Sacroiliac) situation that when he was going from second to third yesterday, it flared up," Roberts said before the series finale against the Reds. "So he's down today. Not sure about his availability."
Roberts added he's hopeful Call's back injury will not be a long-term issue but that the team may not have more clarity until Friday. Call has yet to undergo an X-ray or MRI. "It's something he's dealt with before and played through worse, he said. But we felt to be kind of safe, to not play him tonight. But no imaging yet," Roberts said.
Collection
[
|
...
]