LOS ANGELES — A straitjacket might have prevented Hanley Ramirez from playing Monday, but a little protective padding around his rib cage wasn’t going to stop him.
After taking ground balls during pregame drills and swings in the batting cage, the Dodgers shortstop was back for Game 3 of the NL Championship Series against the Cardinals, despite a hairline fracture in the eighth rib on his left side.
“This time of the year you cannot lay down, and you have to keep going,” Ramirez said after finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory.
“We’re here for the team, here for the city. We’ve got to give everything we’ve got.”
Ramirez, who sustained the injury when he was drilled by a Joe Kelly fastball in Game 1 — and then missed Game 2 — admitted he likely wouldn’t have attempted to play Monday if circumstances were different. But with the Dodgers down two games in the series, Ramirez wasn’t about to remain a spectator.
“I’ve got even from my family, ‘You’ve got to be in the lineup,’” Ramirez said. “I’ve got people on Twitter telling me. What can I do? I’m going to try to be in the lineup.”
He was told by the team’s medical staff he would need to wear protection on the ribcage to play Monday. The fear was Ramirez getting hit by another pitch and worsening the fracture. Otherwise, he was dealing with a pain management issue. Ramirez indicated he would likely receive an injection before the game to deal with the soreness.
“The only way it would get worse is if I get hit again. From the beginning they have told me, ‘Even if you have a small fracture in there, it’s up to you.’”
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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly left the door slightly ajar on the possibility of using Zack Greinke on short rest Tuesday instead of Ricky Nolasco.
“As of right now, Ricky is our set pitcher,” Mattingly said.
Nolasco was bumped for Clayton Kershaw (who pitched on three days’ rest) in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves.
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Neither club has homered in the first three games of the series — a first in NLCS history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last time it happened in the postseason was in the 1948 World Series between the Braves and Indians.