Puig’s knee is hurting, so he gets the day off
Yasiel Puig added another leg issue to his list of maladies. Already nursing a tight right hamstring, Puig is also dealing with soreness in a knee, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday’s game against the Angels. The Dodgers gave Puig the day off to rest and inserted Trayce Thompson into right field.
Puig felt his knee flare up on Monday, Roberts said. The injury affects him when he decelerates after running. The team did not want to risk aggravating his condition.
“With his injury history, just to give him a day [off], when we’ve got Trayce available, makes sense,” Roberts said.
Puig is in the midst of his most successful month in 2017. He is hitting .306 in June with five home runs, five doubles and a .990 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Puig will not need a league-mandated day off, at least. He won his appeal of the one-game suspension he received for making an obscene gesture to fans in Cleveland earlier this month.
The suspension was rescinded, and Puig agreed to make a charitable donation as a penalty.
The Dodgers also played without Corey Seager in the lineup on Tuesday. Seager has not appeared in a game since straining his hamstring on Friday against Colorado. The Dodgers have yet to place him on the 10-day disabled list.
Seager completed a series of agility drills before Tuesday’s game. He also tested his hamstring in the batter’s box, where he initially injured himself last week.
“We haven’t ruled out [putting him on the disabled list] yet,” Roberts said.
Take a knee
Brandon McCarthy was succinct when asked when the tendinitis in his right knee flared up. “Never,” he said. Placed on the disabled list with the condition on Monday, McCarthy has been managing soreness in his knee for most of the season. He said his knee did not cause his loss of command in Sunday’s second inning, when he issued two walks and threw three wild pitches.
McCarthy dealt with “the yips” in 2016, and is focusing on avoiding a recurrence.
“I can pitch through [the knee issue],” he said, “but it’s just making sure that the pitching is right.”
Short hop
Julio Urias underwent surgery on the anterior capsule in his left shoulder on Tuesday. Team doctor Neal ElAttrache performed the procedure. Roberts described the operation as a success, and said ElAttrache expressed confidence in Urias’ ability to recover. ElAttrache also removed some damaged tissue during the procedure, Roberts said.