LOS ANGELES -- Former first-round draft pick James Loney singled, walked and scored a run in his Major League debut Tuesday night after being promoted to replace disabled first baseman Nomar Garciaparra.

Garciaparra was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a strained ribcage muscle suffered in Sunday's Freeway Series finale against the Angels. He received a cortisone injection Monday, but with the Dodgers' bench already thin because of a 12-man pitching staff, the decision was made to bring up another position player one game into the season. In Monday's opener, the Dodgers nearly ran out of position players while mounting a late-inning comeback.

The left-handed Loney, who had never played above Double-A, got the news of his promotion Monday night. Manager Grady Little inserted the 21-year-old rookie into Garciaparra's No. 5 spot in the lineup Tuesday night, behind cleanup hitter Jeff Kent.

"It was a great experience," said Loney. "It's a dream come true to get here and I'll work hard to stay here."

For the 32-year-old Garciaparra, the injury is a bleak reminder of his past two injury-riddled years, when he suffered through major groin muscle and Achilles tendon injuries.

"It feels better today, which is good," said Garciaparra. "Everybody who's been around this kind of injury says that one swing and you could take a thousand steps backward. We can knock it out now and get healthy so it won't linger the whole year. I believe it will be only a two-week thing. It could have been eight or nine days, but you don't want to put the team in a predicament down a player. You can't hurt the team in that sense."

The news on Garciaparra, coupled with Kenny Lofton's disabling calf muscle strain, dealt an early blow to general manager Ned Colletti's strategy of signing short-term free-agent solutions that allow talented prospects to further prepare in the Minor Leagues.

Garciaparra was signed for $6 million to take over first base, while Lofton got $3.85 million to handle center field. On the baseball side, there has been concern about both because of unproductive Spring Trainings.

Garciaparra, who spent the spring working on an impressive defensive transition to first base, struggled to hit .242 with no home runs and one RBI in 62 at-bats. Lofton hit .159 with two RBIs and no stolen bases in 44 at-bats.