A.J. Ellis sprains ankle celebrating

ByMARK SAXON
May 26, 2014, 7:40 PM

— -- LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis sprained his right ankle while celebrating Josh Beckett's no-hitter and was put on the 15-day disabled list before the Dodgers game with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.

Ellis was hurt when he landed on a discarded catcher's mask.

"My right foot landed right on top of it and rolled it pretty good," Ellis said. "I knew right away that it was more significant than other ankle rolls I've had in the past. I'm beyond frustrated."

Ellis didn't catch Beckett's no-hitter, the first in the major leagues in 2014, but ran out of the dugout with his teammates afterward to celebrate. He jumped in the air in celebration and landed on Drew Butera's discarded mask.

Ellis, batting .170 in 15 games, had had returned from the DL less than two weeks earlier after missing five weeks following left knee surgery. X-rays to Ellis' knee were negative, but he told Dodgers trainer Stan Conte Monday morning he was too sore to play. The team recalled Tim Federowicz from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Meanwhile, Beckett seems to have come out of the game, in which he threw a career-high 128 pitches, in better shape than Ellis. The Dodgers said they planned on using Beckett, 34, on the usual four days' rest Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Asked how he felt Monday, Beckett said, "It's pretty normal, like I got hit by a truck. That's pretty common the day after. Certainly when I was younger I felt a little bit better than I do coming out of a start now."

Said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, "If I had the luxury of an extra day, I would do it. We'll pay attention to him. We talked about it afterwards. He looks at it like he pretty much had easy innings after the first couple."

Beckett admitted he thought his days of being able to throw a no-hitter were behind him. He had surgery to remove a rib last July to alleviate a condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome. The surgery has given him a better curveball, which he has used to good effect. Beckett, who once threw in the high 90s, averaged less than 92 mph with his fastball Sunday.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I was thinking that it could have been over as well," Beckett said.

The Phillies presented Beckett with the rubber from the game. He said the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown requested his cap. It was the Dodgers' first no-hitter since Hideo Nomo's in 1996.