The Los Angeles Dodgers snapped their long losing streak by winning four of their last five games, and all of those games came with Adrian Gonzalez coming off the bench.
The 35-year-old is continuing to deal with ongoing back issues and prefers that role. Manager Dave Roberts had planned to start Gonzalez last night against the Washington Nationals but opted against it after talking with him.
“He said he’d rather come off the bench and practice that role,” Roberts said. “If you look forward and what he can potentially do to help us (in the post-season), it’s off the bench. To give him the opportunity to see how to prepare and navigate an at-bat in that role, I think it gives him the best chance of success.”
Gonzalez missed most of the season with a degenerative disk in his back in his back and Cody Bellinger has starred in the first baseman role. He came off the DL in mid-August and started eight consecutive games before going to almost exclusively a bench role.
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Gonzalez, who recently got another epidural injection in his back to treat the pain, is batting .240 with two home runs and 29 RBIs in 67 games this season.
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