Groin Injury Halts Rubby De La Rosa Rehab Assignment

Rubby De La Rosa suffered a setback in his rehab assignment on Saturday night, as his start was cut short after two innings with a groin injury. He is in Los Angeles Sunday to be examined, and is day-to-day.

De La Rosa struck out four and walked one in his two scoreless, hitless innings, but said he felt something in his groin for a couple of pitches. He was removed from the game after two innings, and the reason was initially reported was for a game delay when home plate umpire Bryan Fields was injured. Fields was in fact hurt, hit by a pitched ball from De La Rosa.

When asked if he had ever injured his groin before, De La Rosa said, "Not like that. Maybe a little bit, but not like yesterday."

On a positive note, De La Rosa said his arm felt fine throwing the ball and that his velocity is right where it needs to be.

"My velocity is the same as before. I don't even worry about that," he said. "I just need a little more control."

It is unknown what the next steps in his rehab are for De La Rosa, who could potentially give the Dodgers an extra relief option in September and possibly the postseason. Manager Don Mattingly believes any contribution barely a year removed from Tommy John surgery would be icing on the cake.

"I wasn't really thinking about it. Rubby was going to be a bonus," Mattingly said. "To sit here and count on Rubby doesn't make sense to me. If he has a chance to be a part of something, great. But we're not 100% there yet."

End Of The Line?

Adam Kennedy, out with a right groin injury of his own, is eligible to return from the disabled list on Thursday, which is an off day for the Dodgers. Mattingly said he expected Kennedy to be activated "within a day or two" of his eligible date.

I asked Mattingly if he would face a tough roster decision when it comes time to activate Kennedy, and the manager simply replied, "Yep."

Juan Uribe has played in three of the Dodgers' last 12 games, starting none, with three plate appearances during that span. His inclusion on the roster seems tied to his ability to play the infield, and he becomes redundant when Kennedy returns, something I didn't think I would ever type.

Uribe is due $7 million next season, and would have roughly $2.4 million left in this year's salary by next weekend. But if I were a betting man, I would bet the Dodgers eat the remainder of his contract and designate Uribe for assignment when Kennedy returns.

Video Review

The Dodgers will send video to the league office, hoping to get an error changed to a hit on Hanley Ramirez's eighth inning ground ball under shortstop Starlin Castro's glove. Mattingly said the most important thing is always for the team to win, but that he also wanted to see his players get rewarded statistically, especially on a play they feel strongly about.

"That's a hit. You want to fight for your guys. They work hard," Mattingly said. "At the end of the day you're measured by your numbers."

Starting Lineups

Brett Jackson, 23, makes his major league debut for the Cubs on Sunday, batting second and playing center field.

Game Time: 1:10 p.m.

TV: KCAL

MLB Gameday