La Stella back in lineup for Braves

La Stella lobbied to stay in the game but said that, in retrospect, leaving was the right decision “because we weren’t sure what it was.” He said he was worried it might be a serious injury until tests showed there was no damage.

La Stella said he plans to stay better hydrated early in the game.

“Just because it’s the beginning of the game doesn’t mean you aren’t going to feel any cramping,” he said. “Typically it happens at the end of the game. Second inning, you don’t expect to (cramp).”

The Braves already were short on middle infielders with Andrelton Simmons out with an ankle injury. When La Stella left the game, Ramiro Pena replaced him in the lineup and went to shortstop and Emilio Bonifacio moved to second base.

Pena and Bonifacio both had defensive lapses on potential double-play balls that led to a total of three runs for the Dodgers, who won 6-2.

The Dodgers scored a run in the sixth inning after Bonifacio bobbled a throw to Pena and the Braves had to settle for one out instead of the inning-ending double play. In the eighth inning Pena’s throwing error after the pivot allowed two runs to score instead of ending the inning with the double play.

Gonzalez said he doesn’t regret taking La Stella out of the game.

“You are in a situation where you’ve got to make a medical decision,” he said. “He pulls up on that ball and he says it felt like an electric shock. Then we ask him to run a little bit and he grabs it again.

“He told me he could play but this is something minor and I want to keep it minor. Instead, you let him play and it’s a full-blown hamstring (injury) and he’s out six weeks. Even in retrospect, I feel we made the right decision.”