A.J. Ellis starts at catcher, Trayce Thompson sits in Dodgers' finale with Mets

The Dodgers are going with mostly the same lineup as the first two games of the series against the Mets, with the main difference that A.J. Ellis starts at catcher with Clayton Kershaw on the mound.

Also, Trayce Thompson sits on Sunday one day after leaving Saturday's game in the fifth inning with lower back soreness. Yasiel Puig is back in right field and Howie Kendrick is in left field, the same defensive alignment the team has used for 12 of the 17 defensive innings this series.

Thompson started 10 straight games in the outfield before Friday night.

He said he would be available off the bench on Sunday night, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

This is the ninth time in 11 games that Ellis has started with Kershaw on the mound this season. Ellis has reached base by hit or walk in each of his last six starts, going 5-for-20 (.250) with a double and five walks (.400 on-base percentage) during that span.

Ellis had the last four games and five days off after starting Monday, also a Kershaw start, one night after catching all 17 innings of the team's marathon series finale in San Diego.

For the Mets, Wilmer Flores was activated from the disabled list and starts at third base, the second straight night off for David Wright.