ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts was supposed to get a day off Wednesday. Instead, it went to third baseman Max Muncy, a late scratch from the lineup against the Los Angeles Angels after experiencing soreness in his right side during pregame batting practice.
Muncy's injury prompted Betts to be placed back into the lineup for the finale of a three-game series at Angel Stadium, with rookie infielder Alex Freeland shifting over to third base.
The hope is that, with a traditional off day to follow, Muncy will heal up in time to rejoin the Dodgers' lineup for the start of a highly anticipated weekend series against the division-rival San Diego Padres on Friday.
Unavailable for that series will be Brock Stewart, the right-handed reliever who landed on the injured list with a bout of shoulder inflammation Tuesday. Follow-up tests showed no structural damage, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, though he added: "It's going to be a few weeks before he returns."
Roberts nonetheless characterized the results as a "best-case scenario" for a bullpen that is exceedingly thin at the moment, with Stewart joining fellow high-leverage relievers Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott, Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol on the injured list.
Three of those pitchers, though, are closing in on a return. Yates threw to hitters Wednesday, Kopech will begin a rehab assignment Thursday, and Scott is expected to take part in a simulated game at some point over the weekend.
The hope is that Stewart, who will be shut down from throwing for a week, can return around the early part of September. But Roberts said there's only a "small, small chance" Graterol can make it back from offseason shoulder surgery in time to impact the stretch run of this season.
