Kent is ‘pretty close’ to return

Jeff Kent said Saturday that his strained left hamstring was feeling better and that his return to the Dodgers’ lineup could be imminent.

“It made some good progress,” Kent said. “I’m on the fence right now. It’s pretty close.”

Kent was out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive game Saturday and Manager Grady Little cited the second baseman’s absence as a reason for the club’s recent offensive struggles. Kent had a team-high 13 hits in the 10 games before he was sidelined, even though he had played in only half of the games over that stretch.

Kent hit a major league-best .447 in July and has reached base safely in his last 38 games, the longest streak in the majors this season.

The Dodgers are 1-4 since Kent was injured in Colorado, and they scored a combined three runs in the first three of those losses.

Still, Little said Kent wouldn’t be rushed back, adding that he was available to pinch hit only in “game-breaking situations.”

“He’s still not to the point where he’s going to be able to play without the risk of us losing him two or three weeks,” Little said. “We’re not going to push him to that point just yet. We can’t afford that.”

Kent bristled at the suggestion that his absence was responsible for the Dodgers’ offensive slide.

“I’m not the cure-all fix,” Kent said. “That’s why I didn’t want to talk to you [Friday] and you’re asking me the same question. That’s unfair. That’s not right.”

But Kent agreed with Little’s opinion that he had to be cautious in deciding when to come back. Kent said he learned that from the previous times he hurt his hamstring, most recently in 2005.

“You have to be professional in making a decision to come back, especially if it’s a hamstring,” Kent said. “It’s a reaction muscle and if you go back too soon, you could hurt it worse. Or you could pull another muscle because you’re compensating. You’ve got to be careful.”

Receiving much-needed playing time in Kent’s place has been Ramon Martinez, who was sidelined for a month because of a sore back and had his rehabilitation assignment in Las Vegas cut short because the Dodgers were short on bodies.

“Of course, you start getting a rhythm at the plate,” Martinez said. “Defensively, I’ve had no problems.”

Martinez was four for 15 in the first four games after Kent was hurt while legging out an infield single in Colorado.

Little said he was undecided about how Monday’s off day would affect his rotation.

What Little does know is that Mark Hendrickson will start Tuesday in Cincinnati, followed by Chad Billingsley.

What happens next, Little said, would depend on how Derek Lowe felt in the wake of his start Saturday and how Brad Penny feels after his start today.

To make room on the roster for waiver pickups Jeff Cirillo and Byung-Hyun Kim, Arizona released outfielder Jeff DaVanon and optioned pitcher Yusmeiro Petit to triple-A Tucson. The Diamondbacks also claimed left-handed pitcher Joe Kennedy from the Oakland A’s Friday.

Kim, best known for serving up two game-blowing home runs to the Yankees while pitching for the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series, will be used as a starter.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com