Even though Dodgers veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez went 0-for-2 with two walks at the plate and made only five total defensive plays at first base (four assists and one unassisted) in the first rehab game of his 14-year MLB career on Tuesday night with the franchise’s Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at LoanMart Field, he told reporters after his seven-innings of the eventual 4-2 Quakes win that he is satisfied with the results … sort of.

“The main things that I went on the [disabled list] for are not there no more, so I think it’s fine,” Gonzalez said.

When pressed if he felt that he might be rushing to get back, as he recently told the media when Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles went down with a knee injury, thereby forcing rookie phenom Cody Bellinger to move from first base to the outfield, AGon dismissed the notion by reiterating his answer.

“No, no, I think that, like I said, the things that were bothering me the most are not there anymore, so it’s good.”

Although Gonzalez did not have a hit in his first-ever rehab game, he did draw two walks with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on Tuesday night. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Those “things” that landed the just-turned-35-year-old San Diego, California native on the 10-day disabled list for the first time in his career include tendinitis in his right elbow that has been plaguing the veteran first baseman since the beginning of spring training, and a herniated disk in his back that he first noticed on April 20 while bending down to pick up his daughter during a Dodgers off day. And although Gonzalez played through his “tennis elbow” – as the condition in his arm is more commonly called – during the World Baseball Classic and through his first 29 games of the regular season, the Dodgers finally placed him on the DL on May 5 when it was apparent that he wasn’t getting any better.

“I should have gone on the DL to start the season from [the elbow tendinitis],” Gonzalez told reporters back on May 3, before the Dodgers 4-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.

Gonzalez showed no ill effects of his injuries in Tuesday night’s 4-2 Quakes win over the Lake Elsinore Storm.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Gonzalez is scheduled to play one more rehab game with the Quakes on Wednesday evening, after which he will take Thursday off. Depending how he feels after his two-day rehab assignment, he is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Friday, when they open a weekend series against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium.

As for his brief time at Rancho Cucamonga with the Quakes, the veteran first baseman told reporters that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“It was fun,” Gonzalez said. “You get to interact with the fans a little more, more of a close-knit stadium. Everybody’s right there, so it was fun.”