April 5, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) runs to first after hitting a single in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
LOS ANGELES — Manager Don Mattingly insists fitting four frontline outfielders into the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup on a regular basis is not as complicated as it sounds.
That might be true — if the decision keeps being made for him.
Yasiel Puig was unavailable for Sunday’s game after injuring his left thumb on a headfirst dive into first base during Saturday’s game. Puig remained in the game, but his thumb was sore and swollen.
X-rays were taken after the game, but an MRI was ordered for Sunday afternoon. That exam revealed a sprained ligament. Puig did not play in Sunday’s 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants and was described as day-to-day by Mattingly after the game.
“We’ll know a lot more based on how he feels tomorrow,” Mattingly said Sunday. “(The need for a disabled-list stint) never came up, just talking to Stan (Conte, Dodgers’ director of medical services). I got the feeling it’d be more of a day-to-day thing than a DL thing.”
The Dodgers are off both Monday and Thursday this week with a two-game interleague series against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium in between. Mattingly would not rule out Puig from those games.
Puig played just once in the three-game series against the Giants. He was benched Friday when he arrived late for batting practice before the Dodgers’ home opener.
