Hanley Ramirez out of Dodgers lineup for finale with Royals

KANSAS CITY -- Hanley Ramirez is out of the lineup for the Dodgers in their series finale against the Royals on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, still dealing with the effects of a sore shoulder.

Ramirez was the designated hitter for the Dodgers in Monday's opener, but was completely unavailable on Tuesday. The shortstop got a cortisone shot in his shoulder when the Dodgers were in Cincinnati but until Monday the shoulder bothered him more in the field than at the plate.

Ramirez has a 10-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .361/.415/.556 with four doubles, a home run, eight runs batted in and eight runs scored.

Miguel Rojas gets the start at shortstop, his seventh start at the position and 10th start overall.

Dee Gordon is back in the lineup after a day off on Tuesday, leading off and playing second base. Gordon, who has reached base seven times in 19 plate appearances on the road trip (.368 on-base percentage), leads the major leagues with 39 stolen bases. But Royals starter James Shields has allowed just seven steals in 13 attempts in his 50 starts since joining Kansas City before the 2013 season.

As expected, Adrian Gonzalez is the designated hitter for the Dodgers on Wednesday night, looking to extend his streak with an RBI in six consecutive games. Gonzalez is 8-for-23 with a home run and three walks against Shields, hitting .348/.423/.478 against the right-hander in his career.

Dodgers designated hitters this season are 7-for-21 in five games, hitting .333/.417/.524 with four doubles, three walks and four RBI in five games.

Scott Van Slyke gets the start at first base, his fifth start at the position this year and his third start against a right-handed pitcher. He is 9-for-39 (.231) with a triple against right-handed pitchers this season but has also walked eight times, giving him a .362 on-base percentage against same-handed pitchers.

Van Slyke has started all 21 games against left-handed starters in 2014.