Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez intends to play through neck pain

Adrian Gonzalez said on Monday that he intends to play through the discomfort in his neck.

The MRI exam Gonzalez underwent earlier in the day revealed a strained neck muscle and nothing more, according to the first baseman.

Gonzalez is in the lineup for the Dodgers’ series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium.

“Basically, it’s how much pain you can tolerate,” Gonzalez said. “I’m going to try to play through it and see how it feels when I’m out there running around and doing all those things.”

Gonzalez was injured when he collided with an umpire on Wednesday. He pinch-hit on Sunday in San Francisco, but removed himself from the game soon after.

“It’s not getting worse,” he said. “It’s been drastic, the change from Thursday to today, but there’s still quite a bit of pain there.”

Gonzalez didn’t take batting practice on the field Monday.

“I’m not going to be on the field,” Gonzalez said. “I’m going to keep it quiet until the game. The last couple days, that’s really what flared it up is being out there, running around, getting loose, throwing, stretching, hitting grounders, all that stuff. We’re just going to stay away from it all, just be ready for the game.”

Asked if he felt he could handle the defensive demands of playing first base, Gonzalez laughed and said, “Let’s hope I don’t have to dive for a ball. If I do, we’ll see how that goes.”