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Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig says hamstring feels worse than when initially strained

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig rounds third base on a two-run home run against the Reds during a game Wednesday in Cincinnati.

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig rounds third base on a two-run home run against the Reds during a game Wednesday in Cincinnati.

(John Minchillo / Associated Press)
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While Adrian Gonzalez said he was “100%” sure he would return to the Dodgers lineup Friday, Yasiel Puig sounded considerably less certain.

Puig strained his right hamstring running out an infield single in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ 1-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday at Great American Ball Park.

Puig said his hamstring felt worse than it did when he initially strained it in Oakland on Aug. 18.

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“I felt it a little more than when I hurt it in Oakland,” he said in Spanish.

That time, Puig underwent an MRI examination that revealed a strain described as “very mild” by Manager Don Mattingly.

While Puig was sidelined for only two games before returning to the starting lineup, he said he continued to feel something in his hamstring.

“With the treatment I was receiving, I was able to withstand the games,” he said. “It wasn’t that severe that time. Now, God willing, this one isn’t that severe, either.”

Puig said he would be patient.

“I’m not going to hurry this time because I don’t want for what happened to my left hamstring to happen,” he said.

Puig was sidelined for five weeks earlier in the season with a strained left hamstring.

Puig is batting a modest .256, but was two for four Thursday to extend his season-long hitting streak to 10 games.

“I’m improving my hitting, but this happened with my leg again,” he said. “I can’t do anything about that. All I can do is continue working, continue receiving treatment and see what destiny brings me in this final month.”

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As for Gonzalez, he said he thought he removed himself from the game early enough to avoid trouble down the road.

Gonzalez fouled a ball off his right knee in the top of the third inning. He departed from the game in the bottom of the fifth.

“It started to swell a little bit,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t want it swell too much. Rather take today off and be available tomorrow than play the rest of the game not feeling good and possibly not be able to go tomorrow.”

Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez

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