Howie Kendrick exits early with left hamstring strain

Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick left Sunday night's game against the Pirates in the fifth inning, suffering a left hamstring strain while running out an infield single to open the inning.

Kendrick grounded a ball in between the pitcher and first base to open the fifth inning, and came up limping immediately after hitting the bag. He angrily went straight for the dugout immediately, knowing he was hurt.

Kiké Hernandez pinch ran for Kendrick, and later scored in the inning.

Kendrick will have an MRI exam on Monday in Los Angeles, per J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News.

Kendrick has been a rock for the Dodgers this season, starting 102 of 111 games at second base and playing in 105 games, hitting .296/.341/.418, with all of his starts batting either second, third, fourth or fifth in the order. Kendrick is 2-for-3 on Sunday, his fifth consecutive game with two or more hits, tying Yasiel Puig for the longest streak by a Dodger this season.

Obviously it's too early to speculate, but if Kendrick needs to be placed on the disabled list, newly acquired Jose Peraza is on the 40-man roster and has reached base in all 10 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .385 (15-for-39) with two walks (.405 on-base percentage).

Peraza is primarily a second baseman but has also played shortstop and center field this season.

Whatever the move, if any, it might only be for a few days because Justin Turner is expected to return from the disabled list this week. Turner is eligible to return as early as Tuesday, but manager Don Mattingly told reporters on Sunday that Turner might need a few more days to get his legs ready, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Kendrick hasn't been on the disabled list since 2013 with the Angels. He spent three stints on the DL in 2008 and 2011 with hamstring strains. Kendrick had some knee inflammation earlier this season, missing three games in June and was held out of the starting lineup for four straight games.