Dodgers’ Hanley Ramirez: ‘I’m going to play’ in Game 3 of NLCS

Hanley Ramirez said he will be in the Dodgers’ starting lineup Monday despite a fractured rib.

“I’m going to play,” Ramirez said after taking batting practice.

Ramirez said he reported to Dodger Stadium around 11 a.m. — six hours before game time — for treatments that included acupuncture, painkillers and ice. He also is wearing protective padding around his ribs — “like a running back,” he said.

[UPDATED, 3:39 p.m. PT: Center fielder Andre Ethier is also in the Dodgers’ starting lineup.]

Ramirez, the Dodgers’ best hitter and starting shortstop, was hit in the ribs in the first inning of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. He went hitless the rest of the game, and he did not play in Game 2.

However, he said he owed it to Los Angeles and to the Dodgers to try to play in Monday’s Game 3 because of the respect the city and team had shown him since his arrival last year, via a trade with the Miami Marlins. He said he would have to be hospitalized not to play.

“It’s no time to lay down right now,” he said.

Ramirez acknowledged he would be playing in pain. He said one of the reasons he has to play is to keep Manager Don Mattingly loose.

“He needs some love,” Ramirez said.