ATLANTA — Yasiel Puig returned to the lineup on Monday night after missing Sunday’s game due to a sore back. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said it was nothing major and that Puig was available off the bench on Sunday.
“I didn’t even ask [if Puig was feeling better] today coming in,” Mattingly said. “I was pretty confident he was going to be able to play.”
Sunday marked only the second time Los Angeles had played without Puig in its past 53 games. The Dodgers are 8-3 when he doesn’t play.
Dodgers option Baez to make room for Correia
ATLANTA — The Dodgers optioned reliever Pedro Baez to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room on the roster for recently acquired starter Kevin Correia, who made his Los Angeles debut on Monday night against the Braves at Turner Field.
Los Angeles acquired Correia from Minnesota on Saturday in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. He is 5-13 with a 4.94 ERA in 23 starts.
Meanwhile, Baez continues to bounce back and forth between the Majors and the Minors since making his Major League debut on May 5. He owns a 4.50 ERA in four appearances, pitching twice in his most recent stint in the big leagues.
Baez sports a 3.86 ERA in 42 innings between Albuquerque and Double-A Chattanooga this season.
Barney could see time at shortstop with Dodgers
ATLANTA — Although Miguel Rojas will mostly man shortstop while Hanley Ramirez is on the disabled list with a right oblique muscle strain, recently acquired and recalled infielder Darwin Barney also has experience at the position.
“I’m not sure we’re as comfortable with Darwin at this point as we are with Miggy,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “I haven’t seen [Barney] play short, and Miggy’s pretty dang good. Darwin’s probably a little bit different offensive player. He’s been more established in the big leagues and things like that.”
Barney, a former Gold Glove Award winner at second base, has played shortstop, second base and third base during his career, but he prefers the middle-infield spots.
“I will try to move him around a little bit,” Mattingly said. “Just talking with him, he’s not as comfortable at third as he is at short and second, so primarily [we’ll play him there]. We don’t really have that need with Justin [Turner] and [Juan Uribe], so third base is not really a major concern. It’ll be more short and second with him.”
Meanwhile, Rojas plans to make the most of his everyday player status for the next couple of weeks as Ramirez rehabs and heals. As he makes his fifth straight start on Monday night, Rojas already feels his game improving.
“It’s been huge for me to make that adjustment against a real pitcher instead of making adjustments in the cage or [batting practice],” said Rojas, who notched his first career three-hit game on Sunday. “You want to do something. You want to produce. You don’t want to be just the defensive guy. You want to add something on offense, too, to help the team win.”