Yasiel Puig dropped to seventh in Dodgers batting order

Yasiel Puig is back in the lineup Sunday, all the way down to seventh in the batting order.

It’s the lowest the struggling Puig has ever started in a Dodgers lineup. He’s spent most of the season batting second and third.

“In that spot there, who do you want the extra at-bat going to?” asked Manager Don Mattingly. “Right now, it’s not necessarily Yasiel.”

Puig’s combined on-base and slugging percentage before the All-Star break was an outstanding .915. Since then – and that home-run hitting contest – his OPS is .737.

“You try to put your lineup together with what’s going on,” Mattingly said. “Without going into everything over the last three months, Yasiel is hitting probably where he should be hitting.”

Puig was held out of Saturday’s game with what Mattingly described as a stomach problem. He returns Sunday, but is still the guy who’s hit only .188 with no homers and only four RBIs in his last 26 games.

Mattingly would not say if Puig put together a couple of good games if he would return to the top of the lineup.

“Let’s just see,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly said he has not spoken recently to his young phenom about the batting order.

“Right now, I think he knows what’s going out,” Mattingly said. “I know he’s working on it, been in early a couple of days.”

Andre Ethier is also back in Sunday’s lineup, starting in left field for Carl Crawford. Mattingly said he was just trying to give the veteran Crawford a break in the day game following Saturday night’s game.