Hamstring injury sidelines Braves’ Kemp

Follow the Braves on AJC.com and MyAJC.com. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Follow the Braves on AJC.com and MyAJC.com. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Braves left fielder Matt Kemp’s hamstring issues continued Friday when an injury to the right muscle forced him to leave the game against the Phillies. The Braves said Kemp suffered a strain and is day-to-day.

Kemp appeared to aggravate the hamstring in the fourth inning when he tried to stretch a hit off the wall into a double. Kemp was out at second on left fielder Aaron Altherr’s throw and clutched his right hamstring following his slide.

The Braves placed Kemp on the 10-day disabled list in April because of a right hamstring strain, and he also had multiple DL stints during the 2012 and 2013 seasons because of injuries to both hamstrings. A sore left hamstring put Kemp on the shelf for three games last month.

Kemp sat out a game June 16 because of soreness in the hamstring, pinch hit during a game June 17 and then started the next five before sitting out two games last weekend. In 14 games since June 16, Kemp was hitting .188 (9-for-48) with two doubles, a home run and five walks.

Kemp has said hamstring injuries are a “tricky” and that he’s been trying to figure out a way to allow it to get better while still playing every day.