Kemp expected back after minimum 15 days on DL

DENVER — Center fielder Matt Kemp, sent to rehab his strained right hamstring in Arizona, is not expected to require more than the minimum 15 days on the disabled list, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Friday.

“We feel he’s going to be ready in close to two weeks,” Mattingly said of Kemp, who missed two months last year with a hamstring strain on his other leg.

Mattingly started Skip Schumaker in center field Friday night against the Rockies after having Andre Ethier there Thursday. The Dodgers did not call up a center fielder, and Mattingly said that decision will be revisited daily.

Kemp injured his shoulder last year at Coors Field, which is better known as a place to get bad hamstrings, not heal them. He has a home in the Phoenix area, trains there over the winter, and has the training and baseball facilities of the club’s Camelback Ranch complex to use.

“We want all of the rehab guys to go there,” said Mattingly. “Guys that live there, it’s better for them than to travel with us and then they try to do too much. Guys don’t like it [leaving the club], but we feel it’s best.

“The organization I came from [New York Yankees], it was automatic. You’d go to Tampa [Spring Training complex], simple as that.”

Mattingly said when Kemp is ready for rehab games, he would prefer they be no lower than Class A level, not in the Arizona Rookie League.

“You’ve got guys chucking that don’t know where it’s going,” he said of the pitching. “They’re raw.”

DENVER — Veteran reliever Peter Moylan, who had a contract “out” that could have been exercised Friday, was promoted to the Dodgers’ Major League bullpen from Triple-A Albuquerque for their weekend series against the Rockies.

Room on the 25-man roster was made for Moylan by optioning Javy Guerra to Triple-A Albuquerque. Room on the 40-man roster was made by transferring reliever Scott Elbert to the 60-day disabled list. That is a procedural move that will not prevent the Dodgers from activating Elbert next week.

Moylan spent the first two months of the season at Albuquerque, where he was 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA. The Dodgers didn’t want to lose the 34-year-old Australian the way they did Kevin Gregg, another veteran reliever they allowed to leave after Spring Training. Gregg joined the Cubs, where he has six saves and a 0.63 ERA.

Gregg had a contractual guarantee to be added to the Major League roster by Opening Day or be released. The Dodgers released him to keep Aaron Harang in the bullpen for a week, then traded Harang for backup catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Moylan was limited to eight Major League games last year coming off shoulder surgery and signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers.

Manager Don Mattingly said the sidearming Moylan can fill the role of long reliever that Jamey Wright handled last year, with the capability of being used late in games against certain right-handed hitters.

Moylan said he’s feeling healthier than he has in years after a disappointing Spring Training in which he was still working to regain arm strength.

“My stuff wasn’t there, and it wasn’t a good showing,” he said. “In Albuquerque, I got into the routine, and my shoulder responded.”

DENVER — Carl Crawford, battered from running into the wall Thursday night against the Angels, did not start Friday night in Colorado, nor did catcher A.J. Ellis, who is trying to stay off the disabled list despite a strained left oblique muscle.

With Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez on the disabled list with hamstring injuries, manager Don Mattingly fielded a lineup that had Mark Ellis, who turns 36 next week, leading off for the first time this year, 37-year-old backup catcher Ramon Hernandez at cleanup and a cluster of starters nobody expected to be starting.

“It’s not what we thought going into Spring Training,” said Mattingly, who hit rookie Scott Van Slyke fifth with reserves Skip Schumaker in center and Juan Uribe at third base. “Yesterday, too, it felt like last year at times. I had Scotty fourth. That’s not where he needs to be, but it’s the spot you’re in.”

Despite all-around soreness, Crawford said he could have played Friday night, and Mattingly said Crawford’s 1-for-18 record against Rockies starter Jon Garland was a factor.

“The computer got me,” said Crawford.

A.J. Ellis said he’s also day to day, but didn’t rule out the possibility of winding up on the disabled list if his strained oblique takes longer than the three days he needed for a similar tweak during Spring Training. Ellis said he first felt it during batting practice Tuesday and he still can’t swing a bat.

The decision on Ellis could rest on how desperate the Dodgers get in center field until Kemp returns. Andre Ethier started there Thursday night, but Mattingly went with Schumaker on Friday night to cover the vast expanse of Coors Field.

The Dodgers are short outfielders on the 40-man roster, which is why they are giving Yasiel Puig a crash course at Double-A Chattanooga. Tony Gwynn and Matt Angle have Major League experience there, but they are not on the 40-man roster.