Major League Baseball

Torre benches slumping CF Kemp

Published Jun. 29, 2010 12:52 a.m. ET

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For the second straight day, the Dodgers benched Matt Kemp against a high-profile opponent.

Reed Johnson, not Kemp, is the team’s starting center fielder for Monday’s series opener against the Giants.

Kemp, also absent from the starting lineup against the Yankees on Sunday night, said he couldn’t remember the last time he missed consecutive games for a reason other than injury.

“It’s been awhile,” he said, “but it is what it is.”

Kemp wasn’t aware of the manager Joe Torre's decision until he saw the lineup card on Monday afternoon.

“I didn’t know nothing about it,” he said. “I just come, look at the lineup and see if I’m in it. If I’m not in it, I go about my business in the cage and don’t change anything.”

Torre said he didn't speak with Kemp about this specific change, but added, "Matt and I have talked a lot."

Torre didn't rule out the possibility of keeping Johnson in the lineup beyond Monday. "I’m going to take it a day at a time," he said. "I’m trying to get on a little bit of a run."

Kemp is mired in an awful slump, batting .161 with one home run over his past 17 games. He has a .457 career average against San Francisco starter Barry Zito, so an unfavorable matchup isn’t the reason he’s sitting.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said publicly in late April that Kemp’s defense and baserunning were below average. The back-to-back benchings suggest that the team’s level of frustration with Kemp has increased since then.

When asked Monday if he believes the organization is behind him, Kemp said, “I ain’t getting into all that, man. I’m just about to get my hitting in.”

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