Matt Kemp injury: Dodgers OF hurts shoulder, leaves game

Dodgers star center fielder Matt Kemp exited the team’s game on Friday against the division-rival Giants in the third inning with what appeared to be an injury to his left shoulder.

Kemp grabbed his shoulder in pain during his at-bat in the second inning with the count at 1-2. After getting examined by trainers, Kemp returned to the box but did not swing the bat again, taking three straight balls for a walk. He returned to the field for the bottom of the second, but did not need to make any plays on defense.

Kemp was scheduled to bat in the third inning but was replaced by Carl Crawford, who did not start the game after being activated from the disabled list earlier on Friday.

Kemp had surgery on his left shoulder in October to repair a torn labrum. The 2011 NL MVP runner-up got off to a slow start this season, hitting just .260/.318/.344 in April and .242/.291/.326 in May before landing on the DL with a strained hamstring. He had begun to find his power stroke recently, however, hitting home runs on both Wednesday and Thursday against the Rockies.

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