Left fielder Manny Ramirez, who has spent almost as much time on the disabled list this season as he has on the field, was activated by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
The Dodgers took the outfielder off the disabled list, and immediately inserted him into the lineup in the third spot and then crossed fingers in hopes his fragile right leg would hold up. Whether that’s for the final six weeks of the season, or just seven or eight games before the Aug. 31 waiver trading deadline, remains to be seen.
Ramirez, who struck out and grounded out in his first two at-bats Saturday, has missed half the season while on the disabled list with three right leg injuries.
But the players around Ramirez hit, as Ryan Theriot and Andre Ethier hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, which was repeated an inning later by Jay Gibbons and Matt Kemp. The Dodgers, who had scored two runs or fewer in 20 of the 33 games they had played during Ramirez’s latest stint on the disabled list had hit only one home run in their previous eight games.
