Dodgers: Thursday morning notes

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Some early morning tidbits...

• Andre Ethier is out of the lineup Thursday because of a swollen ankle he suffered on a pickoff play at first base Wednesday. Ethier rolled his ankle in the fifth inning, but he played the rest of the game. X-rays were negative. ‘He’s got swelling,’ Manager Joe Torre said. ‘He’s got some discomfort.’ Torre said he didn’t know if Ethier would be available Friday for the opening game of a three-game series in Miami.
• Ethier wasn’t the only player out of the lineup. With a day game following a 10-inning game, Torre also opted to rest Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, Blake DeWitt and Russell Martin.
• The game Thursday started on a positive note for the Dodgers, who went ahead, 1-0, in the first inning when James Loney singled in Reed Johnson. Chad Billinglsey pitched a 1-2-3 first inning.
• It appears that a lot of people didn’t get to the end of T.J. Simers’ column on Ramirez in Thursday’s edition of The Times.

-- Dylan Hernandez in Pittsburgh