Dodgers’ A.J. Ellis goes on DL after injuring ankle celebrating Josh Beckett’s no-hitter
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis was a part of history on Sunday afternoon as he witnessed Josh Beckett tossed the first no-hitter of the season and the 21st in franchise history in the team’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies, but he paid a steep price as he will have to go on the disabled list after injuring his ankle in the postgame celebration, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
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Ellis has been limited to 15 games and 60 total at bats this season and recently was activated from the disabled list on May 14 and was 4-23 in his return to the Dodgers lineup.
To say it’s been a trying year for Ellis would be an understatement who must now rehab his ankle and miss another considerable chunk of time. He is hitting .170 on the year with one home run and three runs batted in.
Over the last two seasons as the Dodgers primary catcher, Ellis has scored 87 runs, hit 37 doubles, 23 home runs and drove in 104 runs.
Without the services of Ellis for a yet-to-be-determined length of time, Drew Butera figures to see a significant increase in playing time. He’s hitting .220 with two home runs and seven runs batted in over 59 at bats this season.
The Dodgers are 27-24 which is good for third place in the National League West. Entering Monday’s Memorial Day action, Don Mattingly‘s team was 5.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants who own the best record in baseball and one half game behind the Colorado Rockies who are in second place.