TORONTO -- After going 4-for-10 with a homer and double in the two games against Tampa Bay earlier in the week, Yasiel Puig went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Saturday and was out of the Dodgers' starting lineup on Sunday.
"We've got a stretch of a lot of games, and I want him to be ready for the Mets series [beginning Monday night], and we've got players on the roster that need to play," manager Dave Roberts said. "Trayce is swinging well, and I've got him in there."
Trayce Thompson, who entered Sunday batting .268 compared to Puig's .236, started in right field. Puig, though, entered the game in the bottom of the eighth to play right field, replacing left fielder Carl Crawford, and Thompson took over in left. Puig then singled in his only at-bat in the ninth in the Dodgers' 4-2 win.
Roberts indicated that Puig would be starting Monday night against the left-handed Steven Matz.
"I just think a little bit of, he had a couple of good games in Tampa, but I think I just want to see consistently better at-bats, and I think he's, again, swinging at too many balls out of the strike zone and, ironically, a little more passive with balls in the zone," Roberts said.
"So I'm not too concerned with results, it's more the process and quality. Just give him a day to clear his head and get ready for the Mets. Mechanical is fine, but it's tough to be too sound mechanically when you're swinging at balls out of the strike zone."