Matt Kemp injury: Dodgers CF to continue rehab in Arizona

Matt Kemp struggled mightily on his minor league rehab assignment in five games with Class-A Rancho Cuamonga, but now that the Quakes' regular season has ended Kemp will not stay in southern California. Kemp will continue his rehab at the Dodgers' complex at Camelback Ranch in Arizona, the team announced on Tuesday.

He is expected to travel to Arizona on Tuesday.

Kemp hasn't played for the Dodgers since July 21, suffering a left ankle sprain in the series finale against the Nationals. In five minor league games with Rancho Cucamonga beginning last Thursday, Kemp was 0-for-18 with seven strikeouts and one walk.

"The results don't mean much [in minor league rehab assignments]. It's all about getting ready," manager Don Mattingly said over the weekend. "We both want him to be ready. I want to make sure he's feeling good, and is comfortable out there."

While the results may not matter much, Kemp still needs to get his timing at the plate back, which obviously hasn't happened yet. Kemp will continue his search for comfort at the plate in Arizona, though it's not certain just how long until he returns to the Dodgers.

"It's not quite the same but it's a little like spring training," Mattingly said Saturday. "It's hard to jump in there against 94-95 mph if you haven't seen it regularly."

The Dodgers game notes on Tuesday mention Sept. 3, 1975 as the start of first baseman Steve Garvey's National League record of 1,207 consecutive games played. The notes mention that while no current Dodger has a streak close to that, Kemp did play in 399 consecutive games through May 13, 2012.

But since that iron man streak for Kemp, which was the longest active streak in MLB at the time, the center fielder will have missed 132 of 266 games for the Dodgers, including Tuesday night, with five separate stints on the disabled list.