A flash from the past in Dodgers’ win
Gonzalez doubles, shows defensive flair in first game back from disabled list.
DETROIT — The pitch registered on the Comerica Park radar gun at 92 mph and it offered a test for Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. In his prime, when he anchored lineups on both coasts, he treated misplaced pitches like this fastball from Tigers pitcher Jordan Zimmermann with malice. Earlier this season, as he managed injuries to his back and elbow, he allowed pitches like this to overwhelm him.
On this swing, Gonzalez resembled his former self. In his first at-bat after 57 games on the disabled list, he whacked a double into the right-field corner, bruising Zimmermann as part of a four-run, second-inning rally in an 8-5 victory. The Dodgers (86-34) opened this seven-game trip to Detroit and Pittsburgh with their fifth victory in a row.
“It felt good,” Gonzalez
said. “My swing felt right.”
Gonzalez returned to a more pedestrian state in his next three hitless at-bats. He added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. The offense exploded around him. Chris Taylor had four hits. Corey Seager drove in three runs. The lineup sank Zimmermann and protected Rich Hill, who allowed three runs in five innings.
Manager Dave Roberts did not sketch his lineup around Gonzalez. Cody Bellinger has usurped Gonzalez as the team’s cleanup hitter, with 34 home runs in his rookie season, his presence at first base more than compensating for Gonzalez’s absence. Gonzalez batted seventh on Friday. He had not batted seventh in a lineup since 2006.
The double offered a reminder of Gonzalez’s ability. He has been a productive, reliable performer since joining the Dodgers. From 2013 to 2016, he posted an .809 on-base-plus-slugging percentage while averaging 24 homers. He led the National League in RBIs in 2014. He does not have to be an albatross.
“His track record speaks for itself,” Roberts said before the game. “Where we’re at right now with our ballclub, production overrides everything, and that’s the way it should be when you’re trying to win a championship.”
Gonzalez appeared in nine games on a minor league rehabilitation assignment earlier this month. He played on three consecutive days for Class A Rancho Cucamonga this week. He declared himself the healthiest he had felt since 2016, when he suffered a herniated disk in his lower back. The disk issue resurfaced this spring as he dealt with tendinitis in his elbow.
The combination of ailments forced Gonzalez onto the disabled list in early May. It was the first DL stint of his career. He hastened his return after outfielder Andrew Toles tore his anterior cruciate ligament, but Gonzalez remained lackluster at the plate. When he returned to the disabled list in June, he was batting .255 with a .643 OPS and only one home run.
The convalescence allowed Gonzalez time to heal. He suggested his rehab was spent tinkering with his swing, rather than performing maintenance on his back. “Right now, I feel like [how I did] before it all started,” Gonzalez said. “Hopefully, this is the end of the back issue. You never know. As far as right now, I’ve played all these rehab games and I haven’t felt anything.”
As Gonzalez rested, the team took flight. The Dodgers went 46-9 without him. Bellinger earned a spot on the All-Star team. Taylor flourished as a leadoff hitter. The group resembled a juggernaut, steaming toward a franchise record for victories, in sight of Seattle’s 116win season.
Gonzalez has taken pains to ease any potential awkwardness. He described his role as “part of the team.” He expects steady dialogue with Roberts about when he will play, but indicated he would not lobby for anything more than what the manager wants from him.
Gonzalez will not take atbats away from Bellinger, who started in left field on Friday. More likely, Joc Pederson will lose playing time. Pederson entered Friday with a .541 OPS in 27 second-half games. Among the 263 major-leaguers with at least 250 plate appearances, Pederson’s .214 batting average ranked No. 252.
Yet Friday’s fourth inning offered a hint at why the Dodgers may not give up on Pederson. He hammered an RBI double as part of a tworun flurry. In the process, he drove in Logan Forsythe, who scored twice on Friday while reaching base three times. Forsythe might also get squeezed out of the lineup, if the team elects to play Taylor at second base.
Roberts has a pet phrase for situations like this: “A high-class problem.” The modifier shows the luxury of life as Dodgers manager. But it still does not solve the dilemma of finding time for all of Roberts’ players.
Gonzalez offered a hint of a revival Friday. In the eighth, he snagged liner that appeared destined for right field. “I was telling the guys ‘I’m just happy I didn’t mess things up,’ ” Gonzalez said. “We won. That’s the most important thing.”