Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez out of Dodgers lineup

Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig are out of the Dodgers' lineup on Wednesday night against the Cubs, the third game of a four-game series at Wrigley Field.

Puig was a late scratch on Tuesday with a sore hamstring, but manager Dave Roberts said after the game that he expected Puig to start against the left-handed Jon Lester on Wednesday. That is not the case. Trayce Thompson gets the start in right field.

Gonzalez started the last 10 games after missing three games and not starting in four straight games with a sore back. Tonight is the Dodgers' only game against a left-handed starter until likely next week against the Rockies. Howie Kendrick starts at first base.

Kiké Hernandez plays second base in place of Chase Utley, and also bats leadoff. Hernandez has started every game against left-handed starters this season, and on the year is hitting .220/.333/.439 against southpaws this season, after hitting .423/.471/.744 against them in 2015. He was in a 3-for-50 slump overall (with seven walks during that span) but is 2-for-3 in his last three games.

This is the 12th start in 13 games against a left-handed starter for A.J. Ellis in 2016, and the one time he didn't start was the third of three straight games against lefties. Ellis has reached base by hit or walk in each of his last seven starts.

Thompson has also started against every left-handed pitcher, and is hitting .282/.333/.564 with three home runs in 42 plate appearances against lefties this season.

Joc Pederson gets just his second start against a lefty all year — he homered off Matt Moore on May 3 in Tampa Bay, in his other start — and against southpaws in 2016 is 2-for-16 with a double and three walks, hitting .125/.250/.375.

Carl Crawford gets his second straight start in left field. Maybe he can ignite the running game against Lester.

Ross is boss

Old friend David Ross gets the start at catcher, as is almost always the case when Jon Lester starts. Ross began his career with the Dodgers and played with them from 2002-2004, though hitting just .153/.232/.247 down the stretch while starting 28 of 61 games behind the plate after the "Heart and Soul" trade of Paul Lo Duca in 2004 helped end Ross's time in Los Angeles.

All Ross has done is carve out a career as one of the great backup catchers of all-time. He has reached 200 plate appearances in a season just twice, maxing out at 348 PA with the Reds in 2007. He hit his 100th career home run on Saturday, becoming the 845th player in MLB history with 100 home runs. Per Elias, every member of the 100-home club except Ross has at least three seasons of 250 at-bats; Ross has just one.

Ross also started Monday's game and was 1-for-2 with a walk. He was also caught stealing second, making him 3-for-8 in career stolen base attempts. He has exactly one stolen base attempt every season from 2010-2016.