Updates from Saturday, Aug. 9
Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register confirmed that Hanley Ramirez is not in Saturday’s lineup:
Don Mattingly spoke about Ramirez’s health before Saturday’s game (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times):
Original Text
Hanley Ramirez left the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers after suffering from tightness in his right side. The team announced that he was removed for precautionary reasons:
Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reported that the three-time All-Star hurt himself during batting practice but wanted to see if he could play through it:
According to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, Ramirez will have an MRI Saturday to determine the severity of the injury:
In 100 games this year, Ramirez has hit .277/.367/.455 with 12 home runs—fourth on the team—and 58 runs batted in—second on the team.
Taking a bat like that out of the lineup won’t help Los Angeles maintain its stranglehold on the National League West. The Dodgers hold a 3.5-game lead over the San Francisco Giants at the time of writing.
Since Ramirez’s injury isn’t considered to be too serious yet, his absence shouldn’t become a major issue for L.A. If he is forced to miss a few weeks, though, the Dodgers might watch the gap between themselves and the Giants begin to close.
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