Corey Seager is day to day with back discomfort

After getting off to one of the hottest starts among National League hitters, it looks like the Dodgers will be without Corey Seager for a few games. Last night, Seager exited the game with lower back discomfort after diving for a ground ball.

“There was a scan taken last night, which was clean,” manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday afternoon. “He hasn’t come in for treatment. I told him to lay low today. Last night there was less discomfort, that was encouraging. I don’t see him doing any baseball activities today. It’s still day-to-day, but very encouraged.”

Back in 2017, Seager missed the entire NLCS against the Chicago Cubs with a back sprain. Luckily, this injury doesn’t appear to be related to that injury. “I don’t think they’re related,” Roberts said. “The back has been in good standing. It’s one of those things that acted up. We feel good about the results. I don’t think they are related incidents.”

With Seager having a few injuries already this season, Roberts was asked whether or not it was too early to begin considering Seager for a DH-only type of role. “Yes, too early,” Roberts said. “Less than 24 hours ago he was talking about how good his body felt. To take a dive and now talking about DH, that’s premature.”

News and notes

• Roberts doesn’t think the Dodgers have played a ‘complete game’ yet this season, although they are 10-4 on the season. “We’ve piled on late in certain games,” he said. “The pitching and defense has been very consistent. From pitch one to the last pitch, it can get considerably better.”
• Austin Barnes catches Clayton Kershaw tonight. It’ll be the 34th time the two have worked a game together. In his career with Barnes, Kershaw owns a 2.77 ERA and have a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly six-to-one. Roberts said the reason Barnes got the start was because of the history between the two. “They think a lot alike, there’s trust in there. Austin’s receiving is very elite.” Roberts also said we can see Will Smith catching Kershaw soon, and it’s not just Barnes’ job. Smith has caught Kershaw 12 times in his career.