LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offense is struggling, and they might have to face Adam Wainwright without their top hitter in Game 3 of the NL championship series. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez had a CT scan on his left ribs Sunday, and the results were not yet available. He got hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly in the opener but stayed in to play all 13 innings of a 3-2 loss Friday. Ramirez was a late scratch for Game 2, a 1-0 defeat that left the Dodgers trailing St. Louis 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Wainwright will start for the Cardinals on Monday night against rookie Hyun-Jin Ryu, who stumbled against Atlanta in losing his playoff debut in the division series. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says Ramirez keeps telling him he is going to play, but Mattingly said he’s got to be able to swing a bat in order to be in the starting lineup.