Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire
Xavier Paul

Paul plays
Astros at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.

  • Russell Martin, C
  • Xavier Paul, RF
  • Manny Ramirez, LF
  • Matt Kemp, CF
  • James Loney, 1B
  • Casey Blake, 3B
  • Blake DeWitt, 2B
  • Jamey Carroll, SS
  • Hiroki Kuroda, P

After three days of hoping and mulling, the Dodgers have placed Andre Ethier on the disabled list with his fractured right pinky-tip (news via an e-mail from the Dodger PR staff), and called up outfielder Xavier Paul from Albuquerque.

Paul has an .808 OPS in 47 career major-league plate appearances. For the Isotopes, he came back from a one-day absence Sunday to go 3 for 5 Monday, raising his minor-league OPS this season to 1.030.

Ethier leads the National League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, adjusted OPS, total bases, home runs (tied) and RBI.

Elsewhere …

  • More questions about the McCourts are raised by Jon Weinbach of AOL Fanhouse and Josh Fisher of Dodger Divorce. If you like the words “slush fund,” this one’s for you.
  • On this day in 1960, the Dodgers released Boy of Summer hero Carl Furillo, and it did not go smoothly. “I’d like to play,” said Ol’ Skoonj. “But right now my only plans are to go fishing … and see my lawyer.” Details from Keith Thursby at the Daily Mirror.
  • Rich Lederer of Baseball Analysts argues that baseball analysts (hey, there’s that phrase again) should not lump infield flies with other batted balls for BABIP (batting average on balls in play) purposes. Lederer also finds that Clayton Kershaw has been No. 2 in baseball in 2009 and 2010 on strikeouts-plus-popouts per batter faced.
  • Trivia time: Former Dodger Takashi Saito has baseball’s fourth-longest streak of consecutive games (251) to start his career without allowing four runs, according to Stat of the Day. Now in his fifth season, Saito has never let it happen. Tom Niedenfuer (380) is fourth on the all-time list, and George Sherrill is 16th.
  • Former major-leaguer Morgan Ensberg uses a Houston Chronicle sports story to explain why athletes are reluctant to speak frankly to reporters.
  • Want to chat about tonight’s “Lost”? Here’s where to go – down below.

Update: From the Dodger press notes – “Last night, the Dodgers allowed three or fewer runs for the eighth straight game, the first time they have done so while winning all eight contests since June 10-18, 2003. The run also ties the longest such streak for any team managed by Joe Torre in his 29 seasons as a big-league manager. Torre’s 1998 Yankees pulled off this feat from June 2-10 of that year in the midst of a nine-game winning streak and on their way to 114 wins. The Dodgers had a 10-game winning streak while allowing three runs or less from April 20-30, 1980. … Los Angeles hurlers have held the opposition without an extra base in consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 5-6, 2008.”