9 Dee Gordon, SS

Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon was thrown out in the third inning Saturday against the Braves tying to steal third base with two outs and Matt Kemp at the plate. Not only did manager Don Mattingly and baserunning coach Davey Lopes chime in, but Gordon's father -- former All-Star closer Tom Gordon -- talked with Dee about his baserunning error, according to MLB.com.

"Don't steal third," Dee Gordon repeated, "unless you know you'll be safe. I felt it was 100 percent, but I got thrown out."

Mattingly was still annoyed Sunday morning.

"The first year he was here, you want to be patient with him and you're always teaching, but yesterday, we've been there before, and I told him when he got to the dugout that you can't run there unless you're 100 percent," Mattingly said. "There's no real upside to stealing the base. Only an infield hit or a passed ball. It doesn't make any sense to me. It's just a mistake you really can't make. I don't want to come down on Dee. He's trying. But it's just not the right time to steal a base. It's a useless base."

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he could take a page out of former skipper Tony La Russa's playbook and use shortstop Dee Gordon as the No. 9 hitter once Mark Ellis returns from the disabled list, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Gordon has spent the past two games in the two-spot, which is Ellis' usual position with Carl Crawford at leadoff.

Mattingly said the move would be spearheaded by his preference to alternate between left-handed and right-handed batters at the top of the lineup. Gordon recorded his fourth steal in eight games Sunday against the Marlins.

Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon blasted his first home run of the season -- and just the second of his brief career -- during Los Angeles' 7-1 rout of Miami on Saturday night. Playing in his seventh game since being promoted from Triple-A, Gordon went 1 for 4 with a walk as he assumed the No. 2 spot in the batting order for the second time in the past four outings.