LOS ANGELES -- After removing Yasiel Puig from Wednesday's game for disciplinary reasons, manager Don Mattingly has Puig back in the starting lineup on Friday night in the series opener against the Padres, just as he said after the series finale against Chicago.
Mattingly removed Puig on Wednesday after four innings and put Skip Schumaker in right field. But after the game Mattingly did say Puig would start on Friday.
"Yasiel gives us the best chance to win on a daily basis but today I just felt like Skip gave us the best chance to win the rest of the game," Mattingly said on Wednesday.
Puig is batting leadoff with the left-handed Eric Stults on the mound for San Diego. Mattingly said on Wednesday he prefers alternating right-handed and left-handed batters and would flip-flop with Puig and Carl Crawford in the first two spots in the batting order, as well as Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez at third and fourth, depending on the handedness of the starting pitcher.
Puig made his major league debut against the Padres on June 3, and in seven games against San Diego is hitting .321/.367/.679 with three home runs, his most against any opponent. Puig is 2-for-3 against Stults with a pair of singles.
Game info
Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket