Dodgers News: Alex Verudgo Scratched From Monday Night’s Lineup

On Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Dodgers ran out a nice lineup to start with.

First, let’s take a look at what the plan was.

Tonight’s Dodger lineup vs. Cardinals:
Pederson RF
Muncy 2B
Turner 3B
Bellinger 1B
Seager SS
Smith C
Verdugo CF
Beaty LF
Gonsolin P#Dodgers | @Biofreeze pic.twitter.com/PNGJOgOJjP

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 5, 2019

Now, that’s listed as past-tense for good reason. About one hour after the lineup card was released, Ken Gurnick had some news via twitter that Alex Verdugo had been scratched from the lineup. The reason listed was a sore back.

Alex Verdugo scratched tonight with lower back soreness.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 5, 2019

Of course, this is worth keeping an eye on; and that we will. Equally important, it’s an issue that has come up several times for Verdugo in the recent past.

Roberts said he doesn’t believe Verdugo needs to go on injured list, although the injury seems chronic.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 5, 2019

Kristopher Negron replaces Verudgo in Monday night’s lineup. While some might have figured it to be A.J. Pollock, manager Dave Roberts said that Pollock has the night off for a different small nagging health-issue.

A.J. Pollock, who returned Sunday with a big game, is out of the lineup again tonight as a precaution for groin strain. Was doing running drills today with stem treatment. Day to day.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 5, 2019

The good news is that Pollock is day-to-day only. However – the bad news is that this is a signal despite his recent torrid stretch following the All-Star break – he is still not fully healthy.

The Dodgers boast one of the deepest benches in all of baseball in 2019. For this reason, they can continue to play mix and match with a high-degree of success. Still, it would be nice to see a stretch where the team can get fully healthy as they work towards October baseball.

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