Mark Ellis needed emergency surgery Saturday a day after a collision caused a problem in his left leg:

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday following emergency surgery to remove pressure on his left leg, and will remain hospitalized until the middle of next week.

He is expected to be out for at least six weeks.

“He was sent to the hospital, and testing showed elevated pressure in several compartments of the lower leg,” Dodgers trainer Sue Falsone told reporters following the Dodgers’ 6-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. “There was trauma to the area where everything kind of swells up, so you have to open up the fascia and basically release that pressure. They will keep an eye on it and most likely close that wound up on Tuesday.”

Ellis was off to a terrific start for the Dodgers, posting a .373 OBP. Ellis would post outstanding OBPs every few years, but mostly they were low, giving him a career .332 mark. At his age, he likely would have regressed toward that number as the season wore on. Maybe the rest he’ll get with this injury will allow him to continue to get on base at a great clip once he returns.

Clayton Kershaw pitched a shutout. He only struck out four, but the Cardinals managed just six hits. The Cardinals lost seve of their last nine games as the pitching has started to falter as they allowed 55 runs in that streak of games.