Seager, Betts inch closer to full go for LA

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and right fielder Mookie Betts continued to nurse minor injuries but moved closer to full-go status on Tuesday.

Seager has been limited since Saturday night with a sore left quad and served as the designated hitter for a second consecutive game on Tuesday after sitting out Sunday. Manager Dave Roberts said Seager could have played shortstop on Tuesday and expects him there on Wednesday.

Betts injured his left middle finger with an awkward swing in a Sunday at-bat that ended with a home run into the Chase Field pool. He was out of the lineup for a second straight game on Tuesday, although Roberts said swelling in the finger had “dissipated some” and the range of motion had improved.

Betts tried to swing a bat in the cage on Monday night, but he “experienced a lot of discomfort.” Betts was available for defense and baserunning and entered Tuesday's game in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement in right field, but it sounds like a return to the lineup as soon as Wednesday is questionable. X-rays were negative and Roberts said no further tests have been taken.

“There’s one thing having him in there -- the presence, the defense, the baserunning,” said Roberts. “I want him to be comfortable, but it’s not something that can make him worse. It’s per his tolerance, but you want to put the player in a position of success mentally and physically.”

For the second consecutive game, Joc Pederson led off Tuesday night and played right field, while Enrique Hernández started at shortstop. Pederson homered leading off Monday night’s game.

• Roberts said third baseman Justin Turner and catcher Austin Barnes “hopped on the bandwagon” and worked with pitching coordinator Rob Hill from Driveline Baseball to improve their arm strength and throwing mechanics. With improved arm strength, Roberts said, Turner is comfortable playing deeper, which allows him to cover more ground laterally.

“This is as good as I’ve seen his arm since I’ve been here,” Roberts said of Turner. “Defensively, he’s moving to his right considerably better, best as I’ve seen since I’ve been here as well. He’s playing deeper, which he’s got to be comfortable with, which helps the metrics.”

• The Dodgers expect Joe Kelly’s appeal of the eight-game suspension for throwing at the Astros will be held later this week.

• Clearing up any confusion, rookie reliever Brusdar Graterol said he prefers the nickname “Bazooka” to “Buffalo.”

Roberts said he’s considering using Graterol in back-to-back games after Thursday’s day off. He’s been handled carefully after having shoulder issues last year with Minnesota, but Kelly’s anticipated absence will stress the bullpen as it coincides with a roster reduction from 30 to 28 this week.

• For the first time this year, an umpire took the Dodgers’ chartered flight as Mark Ripperger came with the club from Arizona to San Diego on Sunday. It’s highly unusual for umpires to fly with players, but such are the concessions made this year to minimize unnecessary exposure during a pandemic.

“It was different,” said Roberts. “I didn’t get a chance to see Mark on the flight. We got a heads up from the league that this might happen. He was covering from somebody here. It’s kind of the theme that we’re all in this together. He’s got a job to do, we have a job to do and baseball does. It wasn’t a problem.”