A.J. Ellis leaves with hand injury, X-rays negative

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis left Wednesday night's game in the ninth inning after getting hit on the right hand by a hit by pitch while catching. Postgame X-rays of Ellis' hand were negative, though the extent of the injury remains unknown.

With one out in the ninth inning, Dodgers relief pitcher Chris Hatcher hit Justin Maxwell with a pitch, but the pitch ricocheted off Maxwell and hit Ellis directly on his exposed throwing hand. Ellis tried to remain in the game but after examination by team trainer Stan Conte and wildly throwing a pair of practice throws Ellis was removed from the game.

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com had more info:

The ball made contact above the top knuckle of Ellis' right index finger, and his whole hand was wrapped in ice after the game.

"I know it's never a good place to get hit," Ellis said. "There's a lot of small, little bones and things in there. It was a direct shot right on there."

Though initial X-rays were negative, team doctors in Los Angeles will review the results to determine the extent of the injury, though Ellis told reporters (per Gurnick), "I don't think anyone anticipates anything major."

AJ Ellis said Xrays on his hand were negative but #Dodgers want their doctors in LA to look at Xrays. "Lot of small bones in there"

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 23, 2015

Austin Barnes is the only other catcher on the Dodgers' 40-man roster. The 25-year-old is hitting .286/.359/.400 in 10 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City.