Pollock out of starting lineup with sore groin

LOS ANGELES -- AJ Pollock was out of the Dodgers’ starting lineup once again for Wednesday's 2-1 walk-off win against the Cardinals, the fifth game in six days that he’s been sidelined by groin soreness. Manager Dave Roberts said that the decision was made out of an abundance of caution, given Pollock’s injury history.

“He’s feeling considerably better,” Roberts said of the outfielder. “It’s more of where we’re at, risk vs. reward. He’s still in a good place as far as his mechanics, but I think just as far as the groin area, an extra day or two is obviously better.”

Roberts expects Pollock to start in Friday’s series opener against the D-backs. As it was for Tuesday’s win, Pollock was available off the bench. He struck out in an eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance.

“All guys wanna play, but [we’re] just really being mindful of preventing injury,” said Roberts. “There’s a balance, because we ultimately gotta keep these guys as sharp as we can for the postseason.”

Pollock’s injury, paired with Alex Verdugo landing on the injured list, set the stage for Cody Bellinger to make his first start in center field this season.

Other injury updates

While Kiké Hernández -- on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left hand -- is set to travel with the Dodgers when they go to Miami on Tuesday, Chris Taylor will instead head to the team’s facilities at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. Taylor was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 15 with a fractured left forearm after being hit by a pitch the day before, and he continues to swing the bat in the cage, though he’s holding off on other baseball activities for the time being.

“When he gets on the field, takes live batting practice, I don’t know when that’s gonna be,” said Roberts.