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LOS ANGELES — Yasiel Puig is back in the Dodgers lineup on Tuesday night against the Padres, after two days in disciplinary limbo for separate incidents. Justin Turner is back too, after missing four games with a sore thumb and a stomach virus.
Puig was held out on Sunday after ending Saturday’s game by getting caught stealing running on his own for the final out. Puig said he twisted his ankle on the play and didn’t slide, but then didn’t get treatment on the ankle.
He was going to start on Monday, but showed up late to a planned early batting practice session and was benched again. Manager Dave Roberts met with Puig before Monday’s game to hash things out.
“Yasiel and I, and his teammates are all on the same page,” Roberts said Monday night. “It’s one of those things that we all have to be accountable to one another. We’re all in line, and our only focus is winning baseball games and a championship for the Dodgers“
Starting lineups
| Pos | Padres | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Padres | Pos | Dodgers |
| CF | Margot | 2B | Utley (L) |
| 3B | Villaneuva | SS | Seager (L) |
| 1B | Myers | 3B | Turner |
| RF | Renfroe | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| 2B | Solarte (S) | C | Grandal (S) |
| LF | Blash | RF | Puig |
| SS | Aybar (S) | 1B | Gonzalez (L) |
| C | Torrens | LF | Ethier (L) |
| P | Lamet | P | Wood |
Turner is at third base, his first start since getting hit by a pitch on his right thumb on Thursday in Philadelphia. He took batting practice on Monday.
“October 6 is the date that’s most important. We have the luxury of having some time, so I want to make sure everything looks good, and don’t want to make it worse,” Turner said of his thumb. “Hopefully I can get in there tomorrow and play three, four, or five of the last games of the year.”
October bench thoughts
With right-hander Dinelson Lamet on the mound for the Padres, a pair of left-handed veterans are in the Dodgers lineup. Andre Ethier makes his one start per series, in left field on Tuesday, while Adrian Gonzalez is at first base for his first start in 14 games.
Ethier is a lock to make the Dodgers’ NLDS roster as a reserve, but Gonzalez is firmly on the bubble.
“Right now with what Andre is doing off the bench and the at-bat quality that he’s taking, and he’s done it. Andre has come off the bench the last two or three years,” Roberts said. “It’s a tough role, one of the toughest in baseball. To have done that obviously that helps him.”
Ethier is hitting .296/.345/.556 with two home runs and a double since getting activated from the disabled list on Sept. 1, and has played in 18 of 25 games, totaling 29 plate appearances, including 12 times as a pinch hitter.
Gonzalez is 3-for-15 with a double and a walk this month, but hasn’t started since Sept. 11. He has been used as a pinch hitter only five times in the last 13 games. He is hitless in his last 10 at-bats.
“Adrian’s been an everyday player his entire career. Coming off the bench is completely foreign to him,” Roberts said. “We have so much respect for Adrian. We just don’t know, and aren’t set on making a decision yet.”