Dodgers' Andre Ethier scratched from Padres game with finger injury [Updated]

Andre Ethier, the National League's leading hitter, was a last-minute scratch from the Dodgers' starting lineup Saturday night after he injured a finger during batting practice.

The Dodgers said Ethier jammed his right pinkie before the Dodgers played the Padres at Petco Park in San Diego. He was replaced in right field by veteran Garret Anderson.

There was no immediate word on how long the injury might keep Ethier sidelined.

Entering the game, the left-handed-hitting Ethier led the NL in all three Triple Crown categories, with 11 home runs, 38 runs batted in and a .392 batting average.

[Updated at 9:15 p.m.: The Dodgers said after the game that Ethier suffered a small fracture in his finger, and that he would miss Sunday’s game as well because he is returning to Los Angeles for further examination. Manager Joe Torre said Ethier wasn’t hit with a pitch, but rather got his finger pinched around the bat as he was swinging.]

-- Jim Peltz in San Diego

Photo: Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier batting against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on May 10. Credit: Matt Kartozian / US Presswire

Comments

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

Here's when the Dodger's Management goes into Operation Black Ops. Watch how long they try to keep the Eithier injury out of the news, keep him off the DL and deny X. Paul was taken out of the AAA game and heading up here. Dodger front office are masters at this especially with a big home stand coming up and the Tigers at the end. Friday's Dodger website said buy tickets because Furcal is coming off the DL tonite (Friday). Guess what? Didn't happen.

No Furcal AND Either will put a damper on the tickets sales. Prediction: Either DL'ed after in middle of Tiger series. Just to make sure the money is in the bank.

[These Dodgers Suck]

SEE? This is what happens when you attempt a golf grip on a baseball bat ...

[widget]

X-rays of the GREAT Lou Gehrig's hands once revealed over 17 broken bones that healed by themselves, while he continued to play, & play/hit VERY well!!!

so i say to "andre-the-non-giant", kindly suck-it-up, & get ur butt out on the field, & quit being such a wuss, babying ur chipped right pinkie-tip!!!!

[N.P.Krohn]

Can't believe anyone can question Ethier's toughness. Have you seen how many times he fouls nasty inside stuff right off his foot, ankle and shin and keeps batting getting more hits? Anyone who ever stood in the box and has taken one where he's been taken them can tell you it's one of the most painful experiences in the game. He drilled himself 3 or 4 times in the last Arizona game alone. When i saw headline for this blog at a glance that's what i thought it was. I had a broken pinky once and not getting it fixed and set cost me alot of power for awhole year. Even solid contact with a wood bat sends vibration through every joint in your hands wrist and up into your arm, instantly breaking the continuity of a swing. Ethier is the last guy who would complain about playing through pain, it's just smart to get it sorted out now and have his stoke later than having a diminished Ethier everyday. In addition there is no doubt that Ethier is the best Dodger hitter and possibly the best in baseball at this moment but to compare him to Gherig is absurd. Ripken may have broken his record but never came close to his numbers and the broken bones in his hand were nothing compared to the affliction that plagued him throughout the last of his playing days, ending his career and ultimately killing him. We probably will never see that kind of endurance in any game again. God I hate saying good things about Yankees.