Although there has been no official word out of Dodgers camp that outfielder Andre Ethier will return to the starting lineup in time for tonight’s National League Championship Series opener in St. Louis, there is every indication that he will – this in spite of manager Don Mattingly’s coy attempt at suggesting otherwise.

After Wednesday’s workout at Dodger Stadium Mattingly didn’t sound too optimistic that Ethier’s ailing left ankle would be healed enough for the 31-year-old center fielder to do anything other than pinch hit.

“Honestly, I didn’t think he looked all that great,” said the Dodger manager.

Although Mattingly may have thought that Ethier didn’t look “…all that great” during Wednesday’s workout, I did. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But Mattingly’s opinion changed after Thursday’s workout at Busch Stadium when he said that Ethier might start in the series opener.

“For me, it looks like a possibility,” said Mattingly. “He’s not going to be 100 percent, but close to it. He’s got to be able to make the plays in the outfield. And the baserunning is the big question.”

Ethier hit the ball exceptionally well during Wednesday’s workout at Dodger Stadium. Dodger fans can pretty much count on him being in the starting lineup for Friday’s NLCS series opener in St. Louis. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Ethier’s anticipated return to the Dodgers lineup couldn’t come at a better time – the Cardinals have no left-handers in their starting rotation and only two in their bullpen. This bodes well for Ethier who, as most Dodger fans know, has always had difficulty hitting left-handed pitching. On the season Ethier hit .221 against lefties with three home runs versus .294 against right-handers with nine home runs.

Asked about how he felt after Thursday’s final tune-up before Friday’s series opener, Ethier told Dodgers beat reporter Ken Gurnick that he felt better “by far” since aggravating his ankle on September 13.

“I feel I can do well playing center field. It’s definitely gotten better from last week at this point. I kept pounding on it and it didn’t get worse. Everyone was happy yesterday and today. It responded well today and we have to see how it responds tomorrow.”

Although Mattingly has yet to announce who will start Game-3 of the NLCS behind Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, the Cardinals have already announced their starting rotation for the first three games – Joe Kelly will start Game-1, Michael Wacha Game-2 and Adam Wainwright Game-3. The three right-handers did very well for the NL Central champs during the regular season with Kelly finishing the season with a 10-5 record and 2.69 ERA, Wacha with a 4-1 record and 2.78 ERA, and two-time All-Star and 2009 NL Cy Young runner-up Wainwright with a 19-9 record and 2.94 ERA. Wainwright tied Washington Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmerman with a league-leading 19 wins during the regular season which will undoubtedly garner a few votes for each for the 2013 NL Cy Young Award.

During the regular season Ethier went 0 for 3 against Kelly, did not face Wacha, and went 1 for 3 against Wainwright.