Yasiel Puig hurts hamstring in Dodgers’ 5-4 loss to Oakland in 10 innings

Yasiel Puig silently stared into his mobile phone Tuesday night in the aftermath of the Dodgers’ 5-4, 10-inning defeat by the Oakland Athletics.

His right leg was wrapped.

“Now that I’ve started to get my timing, this happens,” he said. “That’s life.”

On a night when the Dodgers’ bullpen wasted a seven-inning start by Clayton Kershaw and a three-run home run by A.J. Ellis, Puig’s nightmare of a season continued.

Puig, who was removed in the eighth inning with what the Dodgers described as tightness in his hamstring, is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Wednesday.

If there was any consolation for him, it was that the injury felt significantly less severe than the strained left hamstring that sidelined him for five weeks earlier this season.

“This one didn’t hurt like the other one,” Puig said.

Puig’s effort on this night counted for something, at least.

On the play he was injured, Puig beat a throw by shortstop Marcus Semien for an infield single.

The right fielder’s single was followed by another hit, this one by pinch-hitter Andre Ethier. The next batter, Ellis, blasted the ball over the center-field wall to break a 1-1 stalemate.

The 4-1 lead was short-lived, as Pedro Baez and J.P. Howell allowed the A’s to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Yimi Garcia lost the game in the 10th, when he served up a run-scoring single to Billy Butler

The bullpen’s meltdown prevented Kershaw from claiming his sixth consecutive decision.

Kershaw, who hasn’t lost a decision since June 27, limited the Athletics to a run and five hits. He struck out seven and walked two.

If the end of the game was frustrating for Kershaw, so was the start. He began the second inning by giving up a single to Mark Canha and walking Billy Butler. Canha and Butler advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Reddick, with Canha later scoring on a Semien groundout to move the Athletics in front, 1-0.

Kershaw became visibly upset in the third inning, when he thought he struck out Danny Valencia on a 1-2 pitch at the outside edge of the plate. But it was called a ball by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor.

Kershaw punched the glove and shouted.

What followed made Kershaw even more enraged.

Valencia hit a soft chopper to the third base side of the mound that Kershaw failed to field cleanly.

When Valencia reached base, Kershaw spiked the baseball into the ground. He picked it up, then sailed it into the Dodgers dugout.

Later, Kershaw couldn’t explain his reaction.

“I think I was just fired up, for some reason,” Kershaw said.

Kershaw regained his composure, striking out Josh Phegley to end the inning and holding the Athletics to one hit and one walk over the next four innings.

Kershaw lowered his earned-run average to 2.34.

The Dodgers broke through in the fifth, when Ellis and Pederson drew back-to-back walks. Ellis reached third on a passed ball by Doubront and scored on a groundout by Jimmy Rollins to tie the game, 1-1.