Only an Infection for Butler

Outfielder Brett Butler, who flew home Wednesday to have a soft-tissue infection in his neck examined by an Atlanta physician, returned Friday with a clean bill of health.

Butler, who underwent throat cancer surgery last year, said he became concerned after his Adam’s apple became swollen.

“It was a long plane ride home,” Butler said. “I was hoping it was nothing, but I was thinking maybe it came back.

“My wife picked me up at the airport. She was fine until she saw my face. I was pretty stressed out.”

However, it was diagnosed as an infection and he was given antibiotics and steroids to treat it.

“It was an infection but because there’s no drainage in my throat it settled right [in his Adam’s apple] because I don’t have lymph nodes on the right side,” Butler said. “Because of that skin being radiated, it reacted a little differently than it would if it didn’t have the radiation.

“When the doctor walked in he said, ‘Now logically think about this, if it was cancer, it wouldn’t have just popped up like this.’ That put me at ease.”

Butler, who has only one hit in his last 27 at-bats, was held out of the lineup by Manager Bill Russell, who started Darren Lewis.

“Darren has only played one game, but he could make it difficult to take him out of the lineup,” Russell said. “Darren is a good defensive outfielder and a base stealer. If Brett is OK, I still want to play him because he can still contribute.”

Butler, who has started 35 games in left field, said he doesn’t mind sharing the position with Lewis, who had two hits in four at-bats in his Dodger debut Thursday after being acquired Wednesday from the Chicago White Sox.