Martin will get some more rest

Russell Martin could end the season catching more games than any catcher in Dodgers history, which is why Manager Grady Little thought he had to rest him Sunday even though his team was in the final stretch of its regular season.

“We pressed him so hard that he needed it,” Little said.

That equates to consecutive days of rest, as the Dodgers will take a day off before playing a doubleheader Tuesday in Colorado. Little said Martin would play the first of those two games against the Rockies, with Mike Lieberthal taking his place in the second game.

Martin has caught 135 games, 11 shy of the record set by Mike Piazza in 1993 and 1996.

Giving more rest to Martin hasn’t been an option for the Dodgers, who have needed his bat in the lineup.

The Dodgers have also needed Martin’s legs. He has stolen 21 bases and been caught stealing eight times.

Martin has hit .234 in 13 games this month, down from the .300 he batted in August. A .306 hitter prior to the All-Star break, he has hit .271 since.

But Martin said he doesn’t feel the toll of the long season.

“You learn from experience,” he said. “At the end of last year, I wish I could’ve felt better than I did. So this year, I’ve been working more in the weight room and maintaining my body to feel fresh, and I feel great at this point.”

And Martin said he isn’t concerned with the long-term effects that logging so many games could have on his career.

“Absolutely not,” Martin said. “I think I could play every day if I had to. You have to prepare yourself mentally. If you’re ready to play every day, it should be no problem. I pretty much have the old-school mentality where you just strap it on and go play.”

Rafael Furcal said he doesn’t expect to undergo off-season surgery on the sprained left ankle with which he has played the entire season.

“It still bothers me a lot, but I feel a little more comfortable,” he said.

Furcal said his ankle hasn’t been as sore after games recently and that he has felt better walking around at home.

Furcal stole three bases Thursday night against San Diego and a career-high four Saturday against Arizona. He said the four steals Saturday were more about strategy than about how he felt.

“When you’re battling against a first-place team, you need to implement a game plan that’s a little different,” he said. “The last time we played them, they beat us in the three-game series. So we implemented a game plan that was a little faster, one with more pressure.”

Furcal was responsible for the Dodgers’ run Sunday with a home run in the fourth inning.

Nomar Garciaparra, who was five for eight with a home run in the last two games, didn’t start Sunday.

“He’s nursing that calf muscle and if we push it too much, it could blow,” Little said.

Andy LaRoche started in his place at third base and was one for three.

Garciaparra pinch-hit in the fifth inning and popped up to first base.

Mark Sweeney singled in the ninth inning, giving him his major league-leading 21st pinch-hit this season. Sweeney, whose 160 pinch-hits are second all-time, is batting .318 as a pinch-hitter this season. . . . The Dodgers honored umpire Bruce Froemming in a pregame ceremony. Froemming will retire at the end of the season with a record 37 years in the big leagues. He was the first base umpire Sunday.

--

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com