Anderson hoping Achilles injury not major

ATLANTA -- Dodgers starter Brett Anderson is no stranger to injuries. He's had three surgeries throughout his Major League career and can list problems to his back, fingers, ankle, forearm and knee among his ailments.

But in the Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the Braves on Tuesday night, the 27-year-old lefty felt discomfort in an area he's never injured before: his left Achilles.

Anderson had to leave the game in the third inning after tweaking the tendon and feeling further discomfort as he came off the mound to field his position. He initially felt it on a chopper from Andrelton Simmons in the first inning, but the breaking point came in the third, when he went to field a swinging bunt from Jonny Gomes.

"[It] just kind of kept getting tired and more sore," Anderson said. "I wasn't able to push off the rubber like I normally was, and it was affecting my command.

"Even with all the other [injuries], I've never taken myself out, but it was one of those things where I felt like if it got worse then it would make it worse in the long run."

The Dodgers were already trying to complete their starting rotation before Anderson's injury, with Brandon Beachy getting optioned to Triple-A earlier Tuesday after two disappointing starts. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly half-jokingly said the state of the rotation was "disarray" after the game. But his point stands.

"Pretty concerned with the state of the rotation at this point," Mattingly said. "We've had injuries ... and as consistent as Brett has been for us, we've kind of been to that point where we're counting on him to be that guy who's throwing us six, seven innings; keeping us in the game."

Even with Anderson's injury history, there's optimism that a DL stint won't be necessary. Anderson said a doctor examined him after the game and found the tendon to be "intact" with no tear.

"There wasn't a pop or anything like that," Anderson said after the game, boot on his left foot. "It's kind of a sketchy area, but hopefully I caught it soon enough where it's not going to be a big issue. We'll know more [Wednesday], but the level [of concern] -- at least right now -- is not too concerned."

Anderson was in the midst of a redemption season of sorts, starting his 19th game for the first time since 2010, when he was with the Athletics. He has a 3.33 ERA across 110 2/3 innings.

"Hopefully he was smart enough to not let it go too far," Mattingly said, "and hopefully it's going to end up on the minor side and not on the major side."