Carl Crawford leaves game in 3rd with tightness in right side

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford left Monday night's game against the Giants in the third inning with tightness in his right side, the team announced.

The extent or severity of the injury isn't yet known. Crawford wasn't expected to start on Tuesday anyway, with left-hander Madison Bumgarner starting for San Francisco. Manager Don Mattingly said the team would wait and see until Tuesday how Crawford felt, but that an oblique strain his feared.

"He has some tightness in his right side. We'll just have to see overnight," Mattingly said. "Tightness in the right side usually sounds like [an oblique], but I don't want to be the doctor.

"Historically things like that don't really go away overnight, but we gotta give it a shot."

Crawford tripled to right field to open the second inning, and appeared to wince slightly as he arose from his slide, though he did not ask for any trainers and did remain in the game. Third base coach motioned toward the dugout that Crawford felt something, then Scott Van Slyke began to loosen up.

Crawford was stranded at third, then played left field in the top of the third inning, and did not have any plays hit his way.

But in the bottom of the third inning, in the middle of a four-run Dodgers rally, Van Slyke pinch hit for Crawford, and singled to left field. Van Slyke remained in the game to play left field. Crawford tried to swing in the cage adjacent to the dugout prior to his scheduled at-bat, but felt something again.

Crawford has played in 15 of 18 games this season, including 13 starts in left field. His only other time missed with missing two games on the last homestand with a stomach bug that required him to receive intravenous fluids.

Crawfrd is hitting .245/.260/.408 so far this season. His triple in the second was his first of the season, and the 121st of his career, leading all active players.