Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier sit Friday for Dodgers vs. Cardinals

LOS ANGELES -- Hanley Ramirez sits for a fourth straight game as the Dodgers battle the Cardinals in the second game of a four-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Miguel Rojas gets the start at shortstop in place of Ramirez, still dealing with shoulder soreness though MRI results showed no structural damage in his shoulder.

Scott Van Slyke gets the start in center field, just his fourth start against a right-handed pitcher this season. Andre Ethier is in a 5-for-32 (.156) slump and in June is hitting .200/.246/.215 with one extra-base hit. Ethier also fouled a ball off his knee in Thursday's game.

Ethier said he had no ill effects from fouling the ball off his knee.

"I'm good to go," Ethier said.

Manager Don Mattingly said Ethier has been dealing with a slight knee problem of late and various little things that he didn't want to see add up.

"I just wanted to give 'Dre a little bit of a break. He's had some bumps and bruises, little stuff here and there, and it's been growing a little bit," Mattingly said. "I just wanted to cut that off at the pass."

A.J. Ellis is back behind the plate after a day off. He is 1-for-5 with a home run and a walk against Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez. With six plate appearances against the right-hander, Ellis and Adrian Gonzalez (0-for-3, two walks, sacrifice fly) are tied as the most experienced against Martinez among all major league batters.

Yasiel Puig is 2-for-5 (.400) against Martinez, and Dee Gordon is 1-for-2 (.500) with a stolen base, though the bag came last Aug. 8 with Rob Johnson behind the plate for St. Louis, not Yadier Molina. Ethier is 0-for-3 with a walk and Juan Uribe is 0-for-4.

No active Cardinals hitter has an extra-base hit against Ryu. Third baseman Matt Carpenter is 1-for-6 (.167) and Matt Holliday is 2-for-6 (.333). Matt Adams is 1-for-3 (.333) with two strikeouts while Molina is 1-for-3 with one strikeout. Allen Craig is 0-for-3 and Jon Jay is 0-for-5.