Stanton gets Sunday off to rest ankle

MIAMI -- A day of rest, the Marlins hope, is all Giancarlo Stanton will need to get his right ankle ready for the upcoming series with the Braves.

Since rolling his ankle at Atlanta on Sept. 1, Stanton had played through the pain. But the discomfort intensified on Saturday night, and in the eighth inning, the 23-year-old slugger was replaced in a game Miami lost 9-2 to the Nationals.

"After that last at-bat, I saw him hopping around on it," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "We got him out of there. He was about the same today. He's day to day. We'll see how it goes."

As a precaution, Stanton had an X-ray taken after Saturday's game, and he said it came back negative.

"We're hoping today helps a lot and then tomorrow he's feeling much better -- and we'll decide if he needs another day or if he is good to go," said Redmond.

The Marlins open a four-game series with the Braves on Monday night at Marlins Park.

Chris Coghlan started in right field on Sunday in the series finale with Washington.

It's been a down year for Stanton, who is batting .249 with a team-high 19 homers and 46 RBIs.

Still, with his immense power, the right fielder is one of the more feared sluggers in the game.

Justin Ruggiano, second on the team in homers (16) and RBIs (43), batted cleanup in pace of Stanton on Sunday.

"We've all got to step up," Ruggiano said. "We all know what happens when he's out. You can't really try to do too much. Replacing him, you just have to try to do what you can do."