Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles suffered an injury Tuesday night trying to protect Julio Urias’ no-hitter. The diagnosis was a torn ACL.
As a result of his injury, Andrew Toles will undergo a season-ending surgery to repair the ligament in his knee, the team announced Wednesday and reported by Ken Gurnick. The Dodgers called up Scott Van Slyke and Brett Eibner from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Toles suffered the injury when chasing down a fly ball hit by Andrew McCutchen in the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s game. Julio Urias had a no-hitter going into the top of the seventh. Toles’ knee buckled as he slowed down at the warning track.
"“I was running to catch the ball, obviously, and I was going to dive, but I realized I was next to the wall and I and stopped really quick on the dirt and it just gave out,” Toles told reporters, per MLB.com."
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The 24-year-old has become a presence in the Dodgers lineup after a breakout season last year. In 2016, in 115 plate appearances Toles hit .314/.365/.505. Though his slash line this year was not as impressive – .271/.314/.458 – it was still solid productivity at the plate.
More impressive was the fact that he decreased his swing rate this season while increasing his contact rate, indicating better plate discipline. As a result, his strikeout rate decreased dramatically.
| Year | Swing% | Contact% | K% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 56.3% | 74.3% | 21.7% |
| 2017 | 51.8% | 82.7% | 15.7% |
Toles was Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ option in the outfield and in the leadoff spot against right-handed pitching. With 199 plate appearances against lefties in his major league career, Toles is hitting .295/.347/.481. He has made only 18 plate appearances against righties and is hitting .278/.278/.500.
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With Toles out of the lineup, Cody Bellinger will see more time in left field, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Van Slyke will take over at first while Joc Pederson will take Toles’ leadoff spot in the lineup.