Matt Kemp activated from DL, Dodgers option Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A

As expected, the Dodgers activated center fielder Matt Kemp from the disabled list before their series finale against the Nationals on Sunday. Kemp is back in the starting lineup for the Dodgers against Jordan Zimmermann, playing center field and batting sixth.

The Dodgers optioned outfielder and first baseman Scott Van Slyke to make room on the active roster for Kemp. Van Slyke has hit .241/.309/.517 with six home runs and six doubles in 33 games for the Dodgers this season.

Kemp missed 11 games with AC join inflammation in his left shoulder, an injury that was aggravated with a swing against the Giants at AT&T Park on July 5. Kemp had surgery in October to repair a torn labrum, but this injury was in a different part of the shoulder.

Kemp is hitting just .254/.309/.357 with four home runs in 61 games this season, a slow recovery from the shoulder surgery that prevented him from swinging a bat until mid January. Kemp also missed 24 games with a strained right hamstring this season, and since his return hit .273/.333/.485 in 10 games, including back-to-back games with home runs in Colorado, before injuring his shoulder in San Francisco.

In May 2012 Kemp held the longest active playing streak in the major leagues at 399 consecutive games but since then has missed 86 of the last 224 games (38.4%) during four stints on the disabled list.

Kemp is 3-for-10 with a home run in his career against Zimmermann, though the home run was hit back in 2009.