16 Andre Ethier, RF

The Dodgers will give Andre Ethier a day off Friday against the Braves, in order to give the veteran a day to rest. Manager Don Mattingly explained his decision to the Los Angeles Times by noting Ethier has played in all but one of the team's games and can get two days off in a row with the team not playing Thursday.

Ethier's play has not indicated that he is struggling with his conditioning, as he is batting .500 over the last five games. Still, the team wants to keep he 31-year-old healthy for the long season.

"The [body] language tells you kind of where he's at. And then you see it on the field in his energy level," Mattingly said. "You can kind of feel it with guys."

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly spoke to Andre Ethier about adjusting to a change in the way pitchers are approaching him prior to Saturday's game. The outfielder responded with a monster night at the plate Saturday night against the Marlins.

Ethier had a pair of double and collected a season-high four hits in a 7-1 victory. He finished 4 for 4 with three runs scored, upping his batting average from .235 to .260. It was his first four-hit game since August 25 against Miami -- again.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier collected at least one hit for the 10th time in the previous 12 contests in Sunday's series finale against the Giants. He went 1 for 4 with a single in the 4-3 loss.

Ethier is batting .250 with three homers and nine RBI through 29 games.