Sore Hamstring Puts Roberts on Bench

Less than two weeks after he returned from a six-game absence because of a strained right hamstring, Dodger center fielder Dave Roberts was back on the bench Wednesday night, tethered there by his sore hamstring.

“It got tighter and tighter in the game [Tuesday] night, and now it’s acting up big time,” said Roberts, the leadoff batter who leads the National League with 18 stolen bases. “It’s not in one spot. It’s the whole hamstring. It’s not blown out, but it really hurts.”

No medical tests are planned for today, and the Dodgers are confident the injury won’t force Roberts to the disabled list. The Dodgers are off today, and Roberts, who is hitting .354 (29 for 82) in his last 22 games and .288 on the season, could return Friday night against Florida.

“With what I heard from Stan [Johnston, Dodger trainer], it sounds like if we played him [Wednesday] night we would be putting him in harm’s way,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “With an opportunity for two full days’ rest, it makes all the sense in the world not to play him [Wednesday] night.”

Roberts admitted he probably wasn’t 100% when he returned to the starting lineup May 3, but he showed no ill effects of the injury while playing nine of the Dodgers’ next 10 games. But playing three games on the concrete-like artificial surface in Montreal last weekend may have contributed to his setback.

“I’m beside myself, obviously,” Roberts said. “I played for more than a week, and it felt good. I knew I had to keep an eye on it, but in the middle of the season, it’s hard to recover [fully].”

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Reserve catcher Todd Hundley will receive a second epidural injection today to treat an inflamed sciatic nerve in his lower back, a condition that sent him to the disabled list May 4. “The last one cut the pain in half,” Hundley said. “Hopefully this one will cut the other half.”

Hundley appears nowhere close to returning. He was in so much pain over the weekend that he managed only two hours of sleep a night.

“I’ve never been so uncomfortable in my entire life,” Hundley said. “I tried everything, then I stood up and thought, ‘This doesn’t hurt too much.’ So I stood for about seven hours. I have a completely new appreciation for people with serious back problems. It is miserable.”

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Reliever Paul Shuey, out since April 25 because of a sprained right knee, will start for triple-A Las Vegas tonight in what is expected to be a 30-pitch rehabilitation assignment. Barring any setbacks, Shuey will be activated off the disabled list Saturday.