Juan Uribe Injures Right Ankle In Loss

Third baseman Juan Uribe sprained his right ankle in the second inning of the Dodgers' 8-2 loss to the Reds on Monday night, on a play that at the time seemed to cost the Dodgers a big inning.

Uribe was on first base with James Loney on second, with nobody out. Scott Van Slyke singled to right field and Uribe, thinking there would be a play at the plate, started running to third. Only Loney didn't try to score on the play, as he was held at third base. Uribe was erased after the throw home was cut off, and hurt his ankle trying to get back to second base.

Uribe stayed in the game for three more innings, but the pain got worse and worse so he came out of the game after the fifth inning. Uribe said the ankle affected him in the field, as he was unable to really move. He was limping noticeably in the clubhouse after the game.

"It hurts right now," Uribe said. "I want to wait for tomorrow, and have it checked out again."

Manager Don Mattingly spoke with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and said he is unsure if Uribe will play Tuesday. It could depend on whether or not the swelling in his ankle goes down.

Uribe went 0-for-1 with a walk on Monday, and is in an 0-for-22 slump that has dragged his seasonal line to .200/.259/.280.

Notes

• Chad Billingsley allowed four hits in 4 2/3 innings before hitting Zack Cozart in the helmet with a pitch, and allowed four hits and three runs in 1 1/3 innings after. "It just seemed like after that, it just bothered him, and understandably when you hit a guy like that," said Mattingly. But when asked if hitting Cozart affected him in any way, his answer was a quick, "No."
• Just in case anyone had thoughts that Luis Cruz was here to take over the starting shortstop role from Dee Gordon, Mattingly squashed that theory after the game. "Luis didn't come here to take Dee's job," Mattingly said.
  
• Maybe it was the frustration of 12 losses in 14 games, or maybe it was having to ask a different variation of roughly the same question over and over again, but Mattingly seemed a bit perturbed when asked if James Loney's 2-for-3 night at the plate would turn things around for the first baseman.
  
  "He got a couple of hits tonight, we'll leave it there. We'll see what happens tomorrow," Mattingly said. "I've been through this for three or four years with James."
  

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Tuesday features a pair of starting pitchers on the All-Star snubbed list, as Chris Capuano will take the mound against Johnny Cueto for the Reds. No word yet on whether one of Tony LaRussa's girlfriends will be in attendance.