Carlos Gomez could face more time on the DL. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
MILWAUKEE — With his right leg bothering him, Carlos Gomez was scratched from the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting lineup before batting practice Monday afternoon.
Gomez missed three consecutive games because of a sore right hip before returning to action Saturday. He went a combined 1-for-8 with four strikeouts Saturday and Sunday, so manager Craig Counsell decided to rest the speedy outfielder.
“The goal is to get Carlos at 100 percent,” Counsell said. “I don’t think the last couple days he’s 100 percent. Just trying to get him closer to 100 percent so we can (have) the Carlos that we know.
“I thought we’d just take a couple days and try to get him there.”
Gomez could return to action Wednesday, when the Brewers open a two-game series at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City — an American League park, which would allow Gomez to serve as the designated hitter, but Counsell wasn’t ready to commit to that theory.
“We haven’t gotten that far,” Counsell said. “We’re just going to play it day by day, but I want him to get better.
“It’s best to have the great Carlos Gomez than grind through something for the whole season and have 70 percent of him. Miss him for a couple of days and then get the best Carlos Gomez for the rest of the season.”
Gomez, batting .270 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 43 games this season, said he might undergo an MRI exam Tuesday.
