GIANTS
Uggla signs minor league contract
PHILADELPHIA — The San Francisco Giants signed former All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla to a minor league contract Monday and will report to Class AAA Fresno.
Uggla, 34, was batting .162 with 2 home runs with 10 RBI this season when he was released by the Atlanta Braves last week. He was benched, then suspended a game after reportedly showing up late one afternoon before the All-Star break.
Uggla is a career .244 hitter with 233 home runs and 690 RBI since 2006. He spent the first five seasons (2006-2010) of his career with the Marlins before heading to Atlanta in 2011.
Also, the Giants have placed right-hander Matt Cain on the disabled list because of elbow inflammation.
Cain is only 2-7 with a career-worst 4.18 ERA in 15 games. He’s earning $20 million this season in the middle of a $140 million, eight-year contract.
Yusmeiro Petit will start today against the Phillies instead of Cain.
The Giants also placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the seven-day disabled list because of a concussion. Right-hander George Kontos and infielder Adam Duvall were called up from Class AAA Fresno to replace Cain and Belt.
DODGERS
Ramirez, Puig held out of lineup
PITTSBURGH — Third baseman Hanley Ramirez and right fielder Yasiel Puig were not in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Ramirez was hit on his left hand Sunday night by a 98-mph fastball from St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal. Puig was hit on his left hand Saturday by Cardinals starter Joe Kelly.
Manager Don Mattingly said Ramirez wasn’t available to pinch-hit. Both Ramirez and Puig underwent X-ray exams in St. Louis that didn’t show any broken bones in their hands. They underwent additional X-Ray exams Monday in Pittsburgh.
Ramirez was replaced in the lineup by shortstop Justin Turner while Matt Kemp started for Puig.
YANKEES
Teixeira out with back strain
NEW YORK — New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will be sidelined for at least three games because of a strained muscle in his back, the latest injury to slow the team’s leading run producer.
Teixeira has been hampered by a left lower lat injury that was causing spasms in his back for about a month. The pain escalated during New York’s weekend sweep of the Cincinnati Reds immediately following the All-Star break.
An MRI administered Sunday showed a mild strain of the muscle. Teixeira was set to have a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection Monday night and will most likely sit out the entire four-game series against Texas.
Teixeira already has missed 21 games this year because of hamstring, back, knee and wrist problems. But he still leads the Yankees with 17 home runs and 48 RBI in 76 games. He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats.
ROCKIES
Morneau to DL
DENVER — The Colorado Rockies placed first baseman Justin Morneau on the 15-day disabled list with a strained neck.
The move is retroactive to July 14.
To take his place on the roster, the team selected the contract of infielder Ben Paulsen from Class AAA Colorado Springs. They also designated right-hander Jair Jurrjens for assignment.
Paulsen, 26, made his major-league debut at first base on Monday against the Washington Nationals.
Morneau is hitting .312 with 13 home runs and 60 RBI. He also took part in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star game.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was out of the starting lineup Monday for a second consecutive game with a tender left thigh. Tulowitzki said he still felt a “little sore,” but didn’t think he’d have to go on the DL.
BRAVES
Gattis returns
ATLANTA — Catcher Evan Gattis has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and is in Atlanta’s lineup against the Miami Marlins.
Gattis had been sidelined since June 29 with a bulging disk in his lower back.
The return of Gattis adds an important bat to the middle of the Braves’ lineup. Gattis is hitting .290 with 16 home runs — one behind Justin Upton’s team-leading 17 — and 39 RBI.