Kemp scratched from lineup, to undergo MRI on left shoulder

San Francisco, CA, United States (4E Sports) – Los Angeles Dodgers star Matt Kemp was scratched from Saturday’s lineup against the San Francisco Giants and was scheduled to undergo contrast MRI on his injured left shoulder.

Kemp injured his shoulder when he violently collided with the outfield wall in Colorado Aug. 28. He missed just two games after the incident but struggled since then, hitting just 3-for-29.

Gadolinium dye will be injured into Kemp’s shoulder to enhance irregularities in the injured tissue. It takes 24 to 48 hours for the stiffness from the injection to dissipate.

Because of this, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly announced that Kemp will miss the rest of their crucial series with the San Francisco Giants and could probably return Tuesday if MRI comes out negative.

Losing Kemp was a big blow to the Dodgers, who are currently in tight race for a playoff spot. They are 5 ½ games behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West and 1 ½ games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card.

Entering Saturday’s game, Kemp is batting .315 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs. He missed 51 games earlier this season with hamstring injuries.

“I appreciate him wanting to play, wanting to be tough and go out there, but at some point you’ve got to be honest and say either I can help the team or I can’t help the team,” Mattingly said. “If it’s hurting him to swing the bat and he’s not able to do some things, it doesn’t do us any good for him to be out there.”

The Dodgers have boosted their offensive capabilities after acquiring Hanley Ramirez and Adrian Gonzalez but they have gone just 20-21 since the Ramirez trade and 5-8 since acquiring Gonzalez.

“We haven’t been doing it with Matt, which doesn’t mean we’re going to do it without him, but I think we’re more than capable of winning without one of those guys,” Mattingly said.

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