Wednesday night’s Dodgers-Mets game was to start with a three-man umpire crew. James Hoye took ill and Minor League umpire Jake Uhlenhopp was en route to join the game in progress while making his Major League debut at third base. He arrived for the bottom of the second inning. — Ken Gurnick

Orlando Hudson, who left Tuesday night’s game with a bruised shoulder, was back in the lineup Wednesday night for the Dodgers. And Xavier Paul got the start in center field for Matt Kemp. — Ken Gurnick

Infielder Tony Abreu is back in action, playing for Double-A Chattanooga. Abreu missed the first six weeks of the season with an ankle sprain, the latest in a series of injuries that sidelined him the entire 2008 season and half of the 2007 season. In that time he’s had surgery for a sports hernia and torn hip labrum. — Ken Gurnick

Still no sign of Manny Ramirez Tuesday and he seems to be in no hurry to resume working out with the club. Nobody around the park expects to see him until the next homestand at the soonest. And when he returns, the prevailing opinion is that he won’t discuss any details surrounding his 50-game suspension for violating the MLB drug policy. He’s liable to take the mark McGwire approach, insisting that whatever happened is in the past and he wants to move on. That was his strategy whenever asked about his sour departure from Boston, so he has a track record when it comes to deflecting controversial subjects. — Ken Gurnick

Eric Stults was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday night and Jeff Weaver will replace him, manager Joe Torre announced Tuesday. — Ken Gurnick

Third baseman Casey Blake, who missed Monday night’s Dodgers game with a tight left hamstring, is back in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game with the Mets, — Ken Gurnick

Eric Stults remains listed as the Dodgers’ probable starter Wednesday night. After having his Sunday between-starts bullpen session postponed a day because of a jammed thumb, it was canceled Monday when Stults reported enough improvement that he didn’t want to risk irritating it with extra throwing. Manager Joe Torre said Jeff Weaver would start against the Mets if Stults cannot. — Ken Gurnick

Third baseman Casey Blake was scratched from the original lineup with a strained left hamstring he said he first felt running out a ground ball in the ninth inning Saturday night. Blake had the day off Sunday. Juan Castro, who homered when starting at shortstop Sunday, will start Monday night for the Dodgers at third base. Blake said he did not consider the injury serious. — Ken Gurnick

Disabled Opening Day starter Hiroki Kuroda is taking the next step in his recovery from a strained oblique muscle, currently throwing a simulated game at Dodger Stadium. Preparing to bat against Kuroda are Juan Castro and Xavier Paul and watching are manager Joe Torre, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, bullpen coach Ken Howell and trainer Stan Conte. — Ken Gurnick

Manager Joe Torre said he expects Manny Ramirez to resume workouts this week, probably in Los Angeles, but that the Dodgers’ suspended outfielder would not be returning on the team charter flight that would leave after Sunday’s game with the Marlins. Torre said he spoke briefly to Ramirez on the phone Saturday, but had not spoken to him Sunday. — Ken Gurnick