Dodgers’ A.J. Ellis armed to break out of sudden hitting slump

Now Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis has a bruise on his left arm to almost match the one on the right. So nice of the St. Louis Cardinals to keep him in balance and all.

The bruises on his arms will heal, but right now Ellis is more concerned with his bruised ego, or at least its causes.

Ellis is in a slump. A brief one, but an ugly one. He is in a 0-for-14 skid with eight strikeouts.

He has not had a hit since St. Louis outfielder Jon Jay’s hard collision with him at home plate Friday, causing a nice bruise on his right forearm. Since then he’s 0 for 9 with a stunning seven strikeouts.

“There’s nothing that’s corresponding to that,” Ellis said. “I have just to figure it out. I have to get in the cage and the video room, talk to Mark McGwire and John Valentin, and turn this thing around.

“Personally for me, it’s as frustrating as it gets. Not just making outs, but making noncompetitive outs. This is as frustrated as I’ve been offensively in quite awhile.”

Ellis has been enjoying a strong offensive season until his recent slump. He was batting .290 before he began to struggle. His average is down to .259 now.

Not that he hasn’t been on base of late. He’s walked only twice during his slump, but on Sunday he got on after being hit with a pitch on the left wrist.

Manager Don Mattingly doesn’t think the home-plate collision is affecting Ellis’ hitting.

“I don’t think he’s feeling any effects, other than soreness,” Mattingly said.

Seems like if you’re really sore, it could slow down the swing. Ellis is the ultimate gamer, but he could be Mattingly’s next candidate to sit for a day.