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Dodgers fall to Angels, 4-3, as Matt Kemp exits game in seventh

Matt Kemp is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Thursday after suffering what Manager Don Mattingly described as a "mild" right hamstring strain.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Back in Anaheim, despite a late power burst, that two-game winning streak for the Dodgers went south.

The Angels beat them 4-3 on Wednesday behind the pitching return of Jered Weaver and the bat of Mark Trumbo, which might not even have been the bad news.

Matt Kemp left the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, walking off the field with an assistant trainer with an unknown injury. The Dodgers did not immediately announce what was wrong with their center fielder.

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BOX SCORE: Angels 4, Dodgers 3

[Updated: 10:11 p.m., May 29: Kemp suffered a mild right hamstring pull and will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury.]

The right-handed Weaver was making his first start since breaking his left elbow in his second start of the season.

And for four innings, Weaver looked like he was going to have the greatest single-game comeback in sports history. He retired the first 12 consecutive Dodgers.

Any dreams of a perfect game were dashed when Andre Ethier led off the fifth with a double off the right-field wall. The ball bounced off the outfield scoreboard, missing a home run by about a foot.

Weaver looked like he might pitch out of trouble when he then struck out Kemp and Scott Van Slyke, but Skip Schumaker lined a single to center to score Ethier and tie the game a 1-1.

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The Dodgers threatened to score more when they then loaded the bases. A.J. Ellis looped a broken-bat single in front of left-fielder J.B. Shuck and shortstop Erick Aybar saved a run when he made a diving stop of a Luis Cruz bouncer in the hole between short and third, holding Cruz to an infield single and forcing Schumaker to stop at third.

Weaver avoided more trouble when he got Carl Crawford to bounce out to first.

Weaver (1-1) threw one more inning, finishing the night having surrendered the one run in his six innings. He allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven.

Left-hander Chris Capuano tried to match Weaver. He gave up a run in the second on doubles to Chris Iannetta and Aybar, but was still pitching in a 1-1 game when he got into trouble in the fifth when he allowed his fourth walk, this one with two outs to Albert Pujols.

Trumbo made it costly. He jumped on a Capuano sinker, driving it over the center-field wall for a two-run homer. It was his team-leading 12th home run of the season.

Capuano (1-4) went 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks. He struck out two.

The Angels added one more in the seventh when Mike Trout doubled to center off Javy Guerra, a Pujols’ single moved him to third and a Trumbo sacrifice fly brought him in.

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It was in the bottom of the seventh when the Dodgers brought in P.J. Howell to replace Guerra that Kemp left the game. Assistant trainer Nancy Patterson went out to center to talk to Kemp, and came back with him in tow.

It was unclear if the arm that was hit by a pitch Tuesday night was bothering him. Kemp walked to the dugout and straight to the clubhouse.

The Dodgers made it interesting with a pair of solo home runs in the ninth. Adrian Gonzalez and Van Slyke each hit solo homers off closer Ernesto Frieri. It was the seventh homer of the season for Gonzalez and fourth for Van Slyke.

Frieri got Schumaker to fly to left to end it.

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