As lucky as we could be. When will Max Muncy

Max Muncy knew he had gotten lucky, after his ugly-looking knee harm earlier this month proved to be nothing more than a bone bruise.

But, when docs defined how close he got here to struggling one thing so a lot worse, from when Michael A. Taylor slid into his leg at third base on July 2, even Muncy was amazed by the infinitesimal margins.

“If the timing was just a millisecond different either way,” he was instructed, “you’re probably looking at surgery, and done for a long time.”

Instead, barely two weeks eliminated from having the skin of his knee bent inward on that play, Muncy was out doing early work at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon; working in the outfield, taking part in catch with coaches and performing agility drills in entrance of trainers without any apparent indicators of ache or discomfort.

“We’re pleasantly, not surprised, but happy with the spot that I’m in right now,” Muncy stated afterward, having also taken swings for the first time since his harm earlier on Friday afternoon. “It feels great. I’m moving well. Progressing quickly. We’re trying to be smart about it, and understand where we’re at, and what it’s gonna take to get back on the field. But we’re in a really good spot … We’re kind of right where we think we should be at.”

If not, it appears, already a few steps forward.

While Muncy was initially anticipated to miss roughly six weeks with his left knee bone bruise, supervisor Dave Roberts struck a more optimistic tone as the Dodgers opened the second half of their season.

“He’s in great shape right now,” Roberts stated Friday. “I don’t really know a timeline. But I do know … it’s going to be a lot sooner than anticipated, which is good for all of us.”

Since Muncy — who was one of the most popular hitters in baseball in May and June — acquired harm, the Dodgers haven’t regarded like the identical offense. In their final 11 video games coming into Saturday, the membership was 3-8, averaging much less than three runs per recreation, and struggling to fill the gaping gap their slugging third baseman has left in the center of the lineup.

Since the beginning of July, only the penny-pinching Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse than the Dodgers in batting average (.205) and OPS (.594).

“We’ve still got a lot of good players,” Roberts stated. “But yeah, there’s a certain line of demarcation when Max is not in the lineup, what happens to our offense.”

The Dodgers’ issues, of course, transcend Muncy’s absence. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have all been slumping of late (or, in Betts’ case, for a lot of the season). Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman have been nowhere close to their typical normal since returning from accidents in May. And the depth choices the Dodgers have known as upon have supplied few sparks of life.

Still, Muncy figures to be a linchpin in the Dodgers’ long-term potential at the plate — with his restoration growing ever steadily in significance as the remainder of the lineup flounders in his wake.

“We got to figure out how to get something going,” stated outfielder Michael Conforto, chief among the Dodgers’ underachievers this season. “Every time we go out there, we expect to score, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year. It’s just one of those stretches [where it’s] a little bit tougher to get runs in. But, you know, obviously, we have faith in our guys, and some big names in here that made their careers on scoring runs and driving guys in. I think we’ll be OK.”

Muncy, of course, is one of those confirmed names.

And in one other lucky stroke with his restoration, he stays assured his harm gained’t considerably affect his swing once he does come back.

“If [the injury] was on the inside of the knee, it’d probably be a different story,” Muncy stated. “But just being on the outside, I think it’s a good spot, knowing that I don’t feel it at all when I’m pushing off on the backside.”

Muncy examined that concept for the first time Friday, taking some gentle swings in the cage that he stated “felt fine.”

“It’s a lot of work, more work than actually playing in the game, which always sucks,” Muncy stated of his rehabilitation course of. “But it’s that way for a reason … You don’t want to have any other injuries that are a side effect from it.”

So far, even that latter concern has been quelled, with Muncy noting that “there’s no lingering side effects with it.”

“All in all,” he reiterated, “we’re about as lucky as we could be.”