LOS ANGELES – Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has tightness in his left hip, but the extent of the injury and the length of time he's going to be sidelined are currently a mystery.
Manager Don Mattingly chose to be coy before the game, telling reporters, "I'm thinking somewhere between seven to 10 days for him, hopefully. Maybe two weeks or three, I don't know. Or it could be tomorrow. I'm not sure.”
It's a safe bet Mattingly's misdirection with the media was just his way of having fun on a hot morning at Dodger Stadium and after a rough night in which his team was beaten 19-3 by the San Francisco Giants.
The Dodgers' entire outfield was missing from Sunday's series finale. Left fielder Carl Crawford sat out with back tightness, and center fielder Andre Ethier is still slowed by a sore left ankle.
Puig landed hard trying to catch a fly ball Saturday night and left after five innings. At first it was considered a groin injury, but it may have also caused tightness in his hip.
Mattingly said Puig would not have an MRI, leading to the belief that the injury is not too serious.
"I'm just playing around," Mattingly said. "That's why I'm saying between a day and 10 days, two weeks. … It's just a pretty big window for me to be right, and I'd really like to be right on this. It would be a first this year.”
One positive note is that center fielder Matt Kemp, who hasn't played since July 21 because of an ankle sprain and hamstring soreness, will join the Dodgers on Monday in Arizona for the start of the team's road trip.
Mattingly even said it was possible Kemp could be activated from the disabled list, a welcome relief in light of so many injuries.
"I've been told, depending on where he's at, it could be tomorrow,” Mattingly said. "We don't know. Obviously, we want him to be healthy.”
