The Dodgers activated shortstop Rafael Furcal from the disabled list before Sunday night's finale with the Angels in Anaheim. Furcal missed 26 games with a strained left oblique. To make room for Furcal, the Dodgers placed third baseman Casey Blake on the 15-day disabled list with a cervical strain.
Furcal also missed 37 games earlier this season with a broken left thumb, and has basically been plagued by injuries for the past several years. He has missed 282 of the Dodgers' last 582 games, dating back to the end of the 2007 season. In 17 games this season, Furcal is hitting .212/.246/.273 with seven runs scored in 17 games.
Blake has battled several injuries this season, and this is his third trip to the disabled list. Blake began the year on the DL with back problems, then went on the DL again in late April with a left elbow infection, missing nearly five weeks. Blake is hitting .243/.346/.386, though he has been limited for most of the last three weeks with his neck problems.
It was thought that Dee Gordon would be the one to be optioned to make room for Furcal, but that is not the case. Gordon dazzled at times in the field and on the bases, but it was pretty clear he was overmatched at the plate, hitting just .232/.250/.280 in 22 games. Gordon does have eight stolen bases in 11 attempts. Gordon is likely to be optioned at some point soon because, as manager Don Mattingly put it, "if Dee's here, he's got to play," and that won't happen very often with Furcal manning shortstop.
Tonight's 5:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised by ESPN. For more news and information on tonight's game, or on the two teams, be sure to read the SB Nation blogs Halos Heaven and True Blue LA.