During the bottom of the first inning of Game-3 of the three-game series between the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, hot-hitting Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager hit a flyball to left field for an opposite-field solo home run to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

But Seager wasn’t the only shortstop playing the game or swinging a hot bat on Sunday. In the top of the third inning, Rockies 2011 first-round draft pick Trevor Story returned the favor by hitting a fly ball to left field for a solo home run as well.

Seager entered Sunday’s contest with a .292 batting average, having gone 26-for-89 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 95 plate appearances thus far through the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Story, on the other hand, began the game with a .297 batting average, having gone 33-for-111 with seven home runs and 16 RBI in 122 plate appearances this season.

Seager has struggled with injuries through the first half of the shortened season. His injury list started in early August with a left quad strain during a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts kept a close watch on his young shortstop, making sure that he was well hydrated and had him listed as “day-to-day” while recovering fully from the quad strain.

But no sooner had Seager recovered from the quad strain and returned to action when, a few days later while diving for a sharp ground ball off the bat of San Francisco Giants catcher Chadwick Tromp, he experienced back stiffness, which landed him on the 10-day IL and caused him to sit out the next six games. Story, on the other hand, has avoided the injury bug entirely thus far this season.

Once Seager was deemed healthy and activated from the IL, he came back full force, slugging three home runs and driving in 12 prior to his solo home run (and RBI) on Sunday.

Although it has been Seager’s hot bat and timely hitting that is understandably receiving the lion’s share of attention, we can’t forget that the Dodgers 2012 first-round draft pick is also an exceptionally talented defensive shortstop. He ended the 2019 regular season with a respectable .967 fielding percentage and currently owns a .956 FPCT thus far through the short 2020 season. But because of his injuries, Seager has appeared in fewer games (23) than has Story (28). Story finished his All-Star 2019 season with an excellent .987 FPCT and came out of Sunday’s game with a .968 FPCT.

As this season continues, we can only hope that 26-year-old Concord, North Carolina native remains healthy so that the momentum he has shown at the plate and on the field continues. Meanwhile, Story has more than just his health to worry about. The Rockies are on a downward spiral, having lost seven consecutive games, including Sunday’s 11-3 / seven home run blowout to the Dodgers.

In contrast, the Dodgers have won nine of their last 10 games and are atop the NL West four games ahead of the suddenly-red-hot San Diego Padres and eight games ahead of both the Rockies and Giants. As such and now exactly midway through the 60-game 2020 season, things are looking promising for the Dodgers to make it to World Series this season.

Let’s hope that Corey Seager can remain healthy for the remainder of the 2020 season and postseason and wins the bat-off – and field-off – over Trevor Story, which, of course, will be no easy task.

Let’s Play Ball!

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