Kiké Hernández homers, drives in four against Reds

Rojas has been dealing with a labrum tear for years. He said he’ll get treatment and expects to resume playing soon. In the meantime, Kiké Hernández could be in line for additional infield time.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Freeman is dealing with a right knee issue, which is why he was at DH earlier this week. The 36-year-old veteran is hitting .136 (3-for-22) with one homer and one steal over his last seven games. It’ll be Enrique Hernández at first base for the second straight contest.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani is available off the bench and is expected to return to the lineup on Wednesday. Tommy Edman moves up to the leadoff spot with Freddie Freeman getting off his feet at DH while Enrique Hernández covers first base. Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk and a pair of strikeouts in his return to Los Angeles’ lineup during Monday’s win over the Reds after missing four games with ongoing knee and biceps issues. The 32-year-old two-way superstar told reporters afterwards that he’s going to focus exclusively on hitting for the rest of the season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Dodgers carefully manage his workload for the final three weeks of the season to keep his as healthy as possible heading into the playoffs.

Thomas had been the Dodgers’ center fielder against righties since Andy Pages went down, but it seems the team will go with Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernádez out there now. Thomas went 4-for-19 with three RBI in 10 days with the club.

They’ll take a seat against LHP Chris Sale. Alex Call will draw the start and bat seventh for Tucker; this appears to just be a routine day off. Enrique Hernández is playing third for Muncy and Muncy appears to be in some danger of losing at-bats against lefties now that Hernández is back.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.

Pages underwent X-rays that revealed the fracture after being hit by a pitch during the early stages of Friday’s game against the Pirates. Roberts didn’t say how the Dodgers intend to replace Pages, but former Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas, who is already on the 40-man roster, seems like the obvious choice. He could come up and play against most righties, with Tommy Edman moving to center against lefties. That would free up some infield time for Enrique Hernández and Miguel Rojas. There’s an extremely small, but non-zerp possibility that the Dodgers bring up one of their top outfield prospects like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota, or James Tibbs III.

Hernández hasn’t started against a righty this month and has been on the bench against some lefties, but he’s made good use of his limited playing time by going 8-for-32 with two homers and two doubles. He still probably won’t get any starts this weekend against the Pirates.

Freeman was banged up a bit as he fell into the Royals’ dugout while chasing a foul popup during Wednesday’s game. He returned to the lineup on Thursday but is still a bit sore so the Dodgers wanted to give him an extra night to rest. He’s considered day-to-day. Enrique Hernandez will start in his place at first base and will bat eighth against Brewers’ southpaw Robert Gasser.

Muncy will take a seat with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez toeing the slab for the Diamondbacks. Enrique Hernández will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat eighth for the Dodgers on Sunday in Phoenix.