Dodgers expect Bauer to start Sunday amid assault investigation

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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the club expects Trevor Bauer to make his next scheduled start against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

"It's out of our hands," Roberts said, noting that Major League Baseball's investigation into Bauer's alleged assault is ongoing.

"I'm in the position of following the lead of Major League Baseball," Roberts added. "Their recommendation was for us to - he was our scheduled Sunday starter, and to move forward and have him start that game on Sunday. And so for me to try to read into it any more outside of just following what they had advised me and us to do, I just choose to follow kind of their lead."

Bauer declined to speak to reporters while leaving the field at Nationals Park ahead of Thursday's game, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times.

A woman filed a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer that was executed June 28, saying that he assaulted her on two separate occasions after what began as consensual sexual encounters. In the 67-page document, she states that Bauer punched her and also strangled her until she was unconscious multiple times, according to Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic. In one instance, the woman says Bauer penetrated her anally while she was unconscious. She also said that medical documents indicate she suffered "significant head and facial trauma," and the restraining order includes photos of bruising, scratching, and swelling on her face.

Bauer's representatives responded publicly to the allegations, claiming the encounters were part of a "wholly consensual sexual relationship."

No formal charges have been filed and a hearing is scheduled for July 23. The Pasadena Police Department has been investigating since mid-May.

MLB has reached out to the woman's representatives but no formal discussions have taken place, a source told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.