Notes: Betts, Gonsolin updates; SD series

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers star outfielder Mookie Betts was out of the lineup for a fourth consecutive game on Sunday and is still considered day to day with a stiff lower back that has lingered for a few days. Betts wasn't available off the bench in Sunday’s series finale against the Nationals.

The hope for the Dodgers is that Betts will be ready to take the field and start in right field on Tuesday against the Rockies. Los Angeles has a scheduled off-day on Monday, giving Betts an extra day of rest.

“I haven’t gotten anything more than I knew last night,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “The training staff is encouraging him to keep active, keep swinging the bat. I expect him to run, play catch and with the off-day, get some treatment then and see where we’re at on Tuesday. Right now, I just don’t have any answers.”

Los Angeles is still hoping that Betts is able to avoid a stint on the 10-day injured list. The Dodgers are already shorthanded, playing without Cody Bellinger, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf contusion on Friday, retroactive to April 6.

Bellinger was injured in the ninth inning of Monday’s game as he was cleated by A’s pitcher Reymin Guduan on a close play at first base. The outfielder went through light agility drills on the field before Sunday’s game and is eligible to return from the injured list on April 16, the first game of the three-game weekend series against the Padres.

Without Betts and Bellinger, the Dodgers’ lineup is missing two former MVPs, but that hasn’t seemed to stop their momentum. The Dodgers are 4-1 and 3-1 without Bellinger and Betts, respectively. Zach McKinstry continues to do a nice job filling in for Betts. Edwin Ríos got the start in right field for the Dodgers on Sunday, and Chris Taylor continues to man center field in Bellinger’s absence.

Pitching plans
The Dodgers announced their pitching plans for their upcoming series against the Rockies: Trevor Bauer will make his home debut on Tuesday and Dustin May will start on Wednesday, while Julio Urías will toe the rubber in Thursday's series finale.

May, who was skipped in the rotation due to a few off-days, will be making his next start on eight days' rest. The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings in his season debut against the A’s.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Dodgers’ rotation against the Rockies is how that affects how they line up next weekend in the much-anticipated first series against the Padres.

While nothing is official yet, it looks like the Dodgers are lining up with Walker Buehler pitching on Friday, Clayton Kershaw on Saturday and Bauer on Sunday. The Padres will likely have Yu Darvish and Blake Snell available over the weekend for this season's first showdown. Roberts, however, insisted that the club’s pitching plans against the Rockies weren’t influenced by the weekend’s series against San Diego.

“I think that you can read into it any way you want,” Roberts said. “But I think that making sure guys are rested and feeling good going into a particular series is the ultimate goal.”

Injury updates
Tony Gonsolin, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, is eligible to be activated Sunday, but the right-hander is “a ways away” from returning to the mound, according to Roberts. Gonsolin is still dealing with soreness in his right shoulder.

As for Brusdar Graterol, the power right-hander appears to be getting closer to getting back on the field. Graterol threw a 15-pitch simulated inning on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, which included fastballs and sliders. Roberts doesn’t want to put a set timetable on Graterol’s return, but said the next step is for him to complete two outings in a three-day span. Once that happens, Roberts believes the team will be ready to activate Graterol.