The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the final week of the regular season trailing the first-place San Francisco Giants by two games in the National League West standings, with only six left to play.
Both teams have been dealing with several injuries of late, as the Dodgers only recently saw the return of Chris Taylor and remain without Cody Bellinger as he continues to work his way back from a non-displaced fracture in his left ribs.
The Giants additionally are missing several key contributors, including Brandon Belt, who injured his left thumb when attempting to lay down a bunt during a matchup against the Colorado Rockies this past Sunday.
An X-ray revealed the 33-year-old sustained a fracture and now is in jeopardy of being sidelined for an undetermined period of time, per the Associated Press:
Giants first baseman and home run leader Brandon Belt has a broken left thumb and his availability for the final week of the regular season and playoffs is unclear. The Giants said an X-ray Monday showed the broken bone and that Belt will “continue to meet with doctors over the next couple of days to develop a recovery plan and timetable for his return.”
Belt previously broke his left thumb during the 2014 season and was sidelined for close to eight weeks. If he were to miss anything similar this time around, it would be detrimental to the Giants’ chances of going far in October.
Belt had been in the midst of a resurgent season prior to his latest injury, batting .274/.378/.597 with 14 doubles, a career-high 29 home runs and 59 RBI across 381 plate appearances (97 games).
Belt missed nearly two months earlier this season with a right knee injury, but San Francisco was able to get by for the most part due to Darin Ruf filling in admirably at first base.
Ruf, however, is currently sidelined himself with a right oblique strain. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Thursday, but until then, the Giants figure to use some combination of LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores at the position.
Bellinger feeling ‘pretty good’ with rib fracture recovery
While a timetable wasn’t offered on when Bellinger might return to the Dodgers lineup, he took some swings over the weekend and did not report any setbacks. The 2019 NL MVP can come off the IL on Tuesday, but whether that occurs is still unclear.
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