Gordon out of Dodgers' lineup vs. left-hander

NEW YORK -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly rested leadoff hitter Dee Gordon along with outfielders Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier on Thursday night against Mets left-handed starter Jon Niese.

"Just a day," Mattingly said of Gordon, whose average has dropped from .344 to .296 in the last two weeks.

"It's a good day for him to watch a game, to slow down a little bit. Having been a player, it's something you know you go through. All of a sudden the average starts going down, down, down and you get caught in the whirlpool drain. It's a good day with a lefty."

Mattingly started Chone Figgins at second base and leadoff. Figgins was hitting .250 with a .444 on-base percentage entering Thursday.

"If you just look at his numbers, for a guy coming off the bench for one at-bat, it's hard to expect a whole lot," Mattingly said. "He's gotten good at-bats. The guy knows how to play. His at-bats have been pretty good as far as what they look like."