Dee Gordon has slight left ankle sprain, is day-to-day

The Dodgers will battle the Athletics for the first time all spring on Tuesday afternoon, and they will do so without shortstop Dee Gordon. Manager Don Mattingly said Gordon suffered a slight sprain of his left ankle in a collision at home plate on Monday, and is day-to-day.

The collision happened in the fifth inning Monday against the Diamondbacks, when Gordon scored from second on a two-run single by Carl Crawford. Gordon beat a strong throw home but ran into catcher Miguel Montero in doing so. Montero barely seemed to notice the 160-pound Gordon upon impact, but Gordon laid on the ground for a few seconds before getting up and walking back to the dugout.

Mattingly said Monday that he planned to take Gordon out of the game soon after that point anyway, and the collision made it easier to remove Gordon at that point. The shortstop walked off the field and back to the clubhouse on his own, and the injury isn't believed to be serious.

Gordon, who hit .379/.446/.485 last spring, is hitting just .241 (7-for-29) this spring but is third in the National League with eight walks, giving him a .405 on-base percentage. Gordon leads the NL with seven spring stolen bases.

Notes

• Zack Greinke will throw on the back fields on Wednesday rather than in Surprise against the Brewers, giving the Dodgers a more controlled environment for him to throw his scheduled 45 pitches. "Either he's going to pitch on the minor league side or he's going to pitch to our hitters," Mattingly said. "One of the two, in a controlled environment."
• Chad Billingsley's bunt-riddled bruised right index finger is feeling better, such that Mattingly said of the right-hander "He's basically got everything but the curve ball." Billingsley will throw a bullpen session on Wednesday, keeping him in line to pitch on Saturday.
• Ted Lilly threw a bullpen session Tuesday morning, and will next throw a simulated game on the back fields on Friday. "He was close to 60 pitches last time. We don't know if he's getting to 75 or where he's going to be," Mattingly said.
• Carl Crawford will participated in a more intense throwing drill on Tuesday involving cuts and relays. On Tuesday morning, he talked about the changes made to his batting stance from his days with the Red Sox. "When I got to Boston, my stance was more open," Crawford said. "I'm trying to get back to being more square to the pitcher, and my batting stance isn't as wide. Those are two of the little things I'm trying to focus on."
• Luis Cruz is playing in a minor league game on Tuesday to get some at-bats, and will also play three innings at shortstop. Mattingly said this doesn't change his intention to keep Cruz at third base on days Hanley Ramirez needs a day off. "I just want Luis to get a little bit of time there, because you never know what will happen," Mattingly said. "I do want him to get a few innings in at short, and it's hard to get him into regular games."
  
• Scheduled to pitch after Chris Capuano for the Dodgers on Tuesday are Brandon League, J.P. Howell, and Mark Lowe. Right-hander Angel Sanchez (No. 89) and former UCLA left-hander Rob Rasmussen (No. 84) are also up from the minor league side to pitch if needed.
• Catcher Griff Erickson (No. 91) is also up from the minor league side Tuesday for the Dodgers, as are infielders Brian Barden (No. 48), Ozzie Martinez (No. 64), Rafael Ynoa (No. 83), Rusty Ryal (No. 87), Miguel Rojas (No. 90), and Scott Van Slyke (No. 94); and outfielders Jeremy Moore (No. 60), Matt Angle (No. 82), and Jeremy Rathjen (No. 88).
• Dan Straily starts on the mound for Oakland, and is expected to be followed by Jerry Blevins, Jordan Norberto, Hideki Okajima, and Evan Scribner.
• The Dodgers have lined the wall of the front office lobby at Dodger Stadium with covers of old media guides and spring guides.
• Nick Evans, who was reassigned to minor league camp on Mar. 3, has been released by the Dodgers.

Game info

Time: 1:05 p.m. PT

TV: none, but webcast on Dodgers.com

Radio: MLB.com (A's broadcast)

MLB Gameday