Yasiel Puig returns to Dodgers, to hit third against Cardinals
— -- LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers activated Yasiel Puig from the disabled list Saturday before their game against the St. Louis Cardinals, bringing back the right fielder after he missed 39 games with a left hamstring strain.
Puig played in two rehab games for Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday and Friday. He went 3-for-7 with a double and a home run. After the game Friday, Puig took to Instagram to tell his followers it was his "last day in Lancaster."
Puig is hitting third in the Dodgers lineup against the Cardinals.
"Everything he had been doing, the way he was doing it, the effort that was involved, all that was with flying colors. That made it a lot easier for [the medical staff] to say he's ready," manager Don Mattingly said. "He's not a guy that you really worry about having to play 20 games to get going. He's the kind of guy that walks into spring training on the first day and looks like you can start the season with him. Physically, he's ready to roll."
Puig's return is needed for the first-place Dodgers. They went 21-18 in his absence, and the offense has scored two or fewer runs in 12 of their last 20 games, averaging 3.1 runs in that time. Aside from four games in Colorado, where offense can be found with ease, the Dodgers have scored 10 runs in their last six, including one run in each of their last three games against the Cardinals.
Puig has a .279/.380/.465 slash line with two home runs in 50 plate appearances this season. He has played in only 11 games.
"We haven't had our lineup," Mattingly said. "We've had Yasiel for 11 games. We've had Carl [Crawford] for [15] games. We haven't been able to mix and match the way we've wanted.
"We talked about over the past 10 days we really felt we missed [Puig] in the lineup. ... You can survive two weeks, three weeks. But when you start getting into long term, it's really when you end up in trouble when you don't have your guys. It starts to show over the long haul, so it'll be nice to have him in right field."
The plan is for Puig to be the every-day right fielder, with a day off or two in his first 10 days back. Andre Ethier, who is putting himself in the comeback player of the year conversation with a 143 OPS+ and seven home runs in 175 plate appearances, will shift to left against right-handed starters.
"We'll be able to create that platoon in left with Andre getting the lion's share of the at-bats," Mattingly said. "We're getting 95 percent right-handers nowadays anyways. So that's how we're looking at it."
Outfielder Scott Schebler was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for Puig on the 25-man roster.
