Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier, who played sparingly in the division series due to an ankle injury, is in the lineup for Game 1 of the NL championship series.
Manager Don Mattingly said Ethier assured him and the rest of the team he'd be able to make all the plays. He was batting seventh against St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly on Friday night.
''Well, it gets us back to the kind of lineup that we played most of the middle of our year, with Andre out in center, and it feels good to get him back in there,'' Mattingly said. ''We're comfortable he can play center today the way he's capable of, and we'll see where we go from there.''
The Dodgers are going with starting pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Ricky Nolasco in Games 3 and 4. Paco Rodriguez was not on the roster, leaving the Dodgers with one lefty in the bullpen.
Right-handers Carlos Marmol and Edinson Volquez also were added and Chris Capuano was not on the roster.