Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
AJ Pollock was out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Wednesday night for a fourth consecutive game, but that could change once the team comes out of the off day.
Pollock suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain during last Friday’s loss to the L.A. Angels and has been closely monitored since then. He was limited to pinch-hit appearances during the Interleague series with the Seattle Mariners.
“It feels good. I’ve been running every day with the trainers. I think we’re being pretty cautious,” Pollock said before the two-game finale at Dodger Stadium.
“I feel comfortable out there, it’s just a matter of managing it. It feels really good, though, so hopefully I’ll be able to turn this loose pretty soon.”
This marked the first time Pollock has suffered a hamstring strain, which has led to some surprise with the recovery. “I felt way better than I thought I was going to feel the next day. Every day has been getting significantly better,” Pollock said.
“It’s been a very positive thing since I did it. Just trying to be smart. I feel really good about things and I think everyone feels good with where I’m at. It’s also don’t want to quite rush back too soon. But at the same time, when it’s ready, it’s ready. We’re right there. We’ll just see what happens.”
Part of the recovery process for Pollock has been fighting the urge to get back in the lineup so quickly, even if means some frustration with not being able to play. “I hate injuries. I hate missing games, period,” he said.
“But I’ve also been in situations where I’ve ran it out there too early, I’ve wanted to get back so bad, and it turned into something longer. Baseball is such a unique sport. It’s hard to explain it to anyone who hasn’t really been in there, hasn’t put their body on the line for this long.
“I’ve learned to be a little more patient with myself so I don’t have to miss time and when I’m out there I can be free and easy. Running, playing, stealing bases, making plays in the outfield, hitting. So that’s just kind of where my mind is at.”
Pollock assesses Dodgers lineup
Both because of injuries and several players going into individual slumps, the Dodgers have cooled considerably since beginning the season at 13-2.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about with our hitting coaches and behind the scenes. Baseball is a weird sport,” Pollock said. “Not to fully chalk it up to that, because there’s a lot of stuff that we need to do better, I think if you get into a little bit of a funk, sometimes you get a little overaggressive or a little passive.
“When you’re doing your best, you’re kind of finding that happy medium. Hopefully we can find that. We’ll see what happens. We’re definitely out here working every day. We’re confident. Our lineup is really, really good. We’ve just got to get back to being ourselves.”
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