Dodgers' Mattingly on Ellis: “We Miss Him”

Dodgers pitchers have a respectable 3.26 ERA despite missing their top catcher for most of the season

Injuries to key players are starting to mount up for the Dodgers and the absence of catcher A.J. Ellis is a glaring one for manager Don Mattingly.

“We miss him, period,” Mattngly said. “I think (Drew Butera) has been good, (Tim Federowicz) was good at running the the game and (Miguel Olivo) has been good also.”

Ellis played in a minor league game Sunday. Mattingly said he’ll also play Monday and then be reevaluated. He’s been on the disabled list since April 8 with a left knee injury.

Not a masher with the bat, Ellis was only 4 for 24 before he got hurt but it’s his prowess as a pitching staff manager that the team misses.

“I think you always miss your guy that really is the guy along with (pitching coach Rick Honeycutt) who are setting the game plan and making sure we’re executing that. So, I think we’ve missed A.J.”

His wife Cindy Ellis tweeted this photo after his surgery:

((embed tweet)

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Injury Updates

-Juan Uribe is listed as day-to-day with a right hamstring injury. He hurt it Thursday while grounding into a double play, according to team officials. Uribe ran sprints and did baseball drills on the field in shorts and a T-shirt before Sunday’s game. Mattingly says the team wants to avoid placing him on the disabled list, but that has not been ruled out.

-Hyun-Jin Ryu threw to a catcher on flat ground Sunday. He’s currently on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left shoulder. Ryu is expected to throw from a mound Tuesday.

-Chad Billingsly resumed his throwing program in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. He had a recent set back and needed a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow in April.  

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