After homering on the second pitch he saw and striking out in his second at-bat with the bases loaded, Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, playing in the second of what was to be four rehab outings with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, appeared to pull up as he tried to leg out a grounder to third base in his third at-bat of the night. Puig was out on the play but more importantly, he immediately returned to the Quakes dugout, grabbed his gear and headed to the visitor’s clubhouse.

Puig pulled up grimacing about three-quarters of the way to first base in his third at-bat of the night – a ground out to third base that he nearly beat out. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

“I felt a little bit of tightness when I was running and I just want to rest a little bit,” Puig said through an interpreter. “I just want to rest a little bit, exercise and get ready for baseball again. It was a good night out.”

Puig absolutely crushed the second pitch he saw for a monster solo home run over the center field batters eye in the first inning to give the Quakes a 1-0 lead. They would go on to lose to the High Desert Mavericks by a score of 6-5. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Asked if he planned to finish his scheduled rehab assignment with the Quakes through the weekend, the Dodgers star right fielder made it sound as though there may be more to this than just a little tightness.

“Saturday and Sunday off and maybe back Monday in Los Angeles,” Puig said himself. “I need work … I’m just going to keep working on it and keep exercising.”

Puig avoided calling tonight’s hamstring tightness a setback, but it’s difficult to see it any other way.

“With the cold it just felt like it was a little bit tighter tonight,” Puig said. “With a little more exercise, stretching, [I will] be better to play. Once the sun went down it got really cold and it was hard to keep warm.”