Edman returns for Dodgers, but Smith scratched due to hand - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Tommy Edman returned from the injured list Wednesday, making the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting lineup whole for the first time in a while. And then, no more than 15 minutes before the first pitch against the last-place Colorado Rockies, Will Smith's right hand once again swelled up, prompting Ben Rortvedt to scramble to take his place behind the plate.

Smith sat out last weekend's series in Baltimore while recovering from a bruise in that hand, which had absorbed a foul tip, but scans came back negative. The Dodgers' hope is that the Thursday off day will allow Smith, who is batting .296/.404/.497 despite some recent struggles, to catch two of three games against the division rival San Francisco Giants in their next series.

«Not overly concerned,» Roberts said after a 9-0 victory, «but we've got to get that swelling under wraps.»

Edman's return, after sitting out the past five weeks because of a recurrence of a right ankle, provided a glimpse at what the Dodgers' alignment might look like at full strength. He started in center field and pushed Andy Pages to left, with Teoscar Hernandez remaining in right and the struggling Michael Conforto relegated to the bench.

Roberts said Edman would get the majority of his starts against opposing left-handed pitchers — such as Wednesday starter Kyle Freeland — and that Conforto would still be in the lineup when the Dodgers faced righties.

Edman is a switch-hitter who has fared better this season against lefties (.737 OPS) than righties (.647), but he is navigating a down year, batting .228/.281/.396 in 86 games. His presence should at least improve the team's defense, though the ideal setup has Pages in right field because of his superior arm strength.

Hernandez has