As the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing the San Francisco Giants for the first time this season, Cody Bellinger (hairline fracture in left fibula) and Zach McKinstry (right oblique strain) began rehab assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
While it was a positive development for the two, they were overshadowed by Keibert Ruiz hitting two home runs in a 13-3 win at Isotopes Park. It was the fourth multi-homer game of Ruiz’s career and first since doing so for Double-A Tulsa in 2018. His five RBI matched a career high.
Oklahoma City set season highs with 13 runs, 12 hits and 11 walks. Their pitching staff also had its best collective showing of the year, limiting the Isotopes to just the three runs on five hits, while collecting 11 strikeouts.
As for Bellinger, he played five innings in center field and finished 1-for-4 with an RBI. He nearly slugged a home run in the first inning but his drive to right field was caught at the wall.
Bellinger lined out to right in his second at-bat, flied out to left field in his third trip to the plate, and hit an RBI single in his final time batting.
McKinstry, batting behind Bellinger in the OKC lineup, also played five innings in his start in left field. McKinstry drew walks in each of his first two plate appearances and scored both times on a Ruiz homer. McKinstry popped out and grounded out in his other two at-bats.
Dodgers keeping open mind with Bellinger, McKinstry
As Bellinger and McKinstry were on the verge of beginning their respective rehab assignments, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hesitated to set any sort of timeline for their returns. He noted the organization will be flexible and base decisions on how both players feel, though acknowledged McKinstry could be reinstated first.
That expectation stemmed from Bellinger being delayed to making his Spring Training debut because of offseason shoulder surgery, and thus not having spent much time on a field so far this year.
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