Carl Crawford returns to lineup for Dodgers vs. Giants

Carl Crawford is back in the starting lineup for the Dodgers on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

Crawford missed the final two games against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix, sitting Saturday with the left-handed Wade Miley starting and on Sunday with tightness in his right side. Manager Don Mattingly on Sunday described Crawford's injury as minor, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Crawford is 3-for-7 (.429) with a triple and a walk against Tim Lincecum, starting for the Giants in the series opener. All eight plate appearances, over three games, came last season.

Matt Kemp, who is 9-for-46 (.196) with a double, six walks and 18 strikeouts against Lincecum, sits for the second time in nine games since his activation from the disabled list on April 4.

Yasiel Puig bats fifth for the Dodgers, his first time out of the first or second spots in the batting order this season, breaking up the left-handed Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier.

Tuesday night opens a stretch of games on 13 straight days for the Dodgers, scheduled to play 29 games in the next 30 days. So far, Hanley Ramirez, Gonzalez and Juan Uribe have played in every inning of every game.