Surging Teo (hamstring strain) placed on IL; No. 19 prospect Ward called up

LOS ANGELES -- Just as he was heating up, Teoscar Hernández was sidelined with an injury.

Hernández was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain ahead of Friday night's game against the Phillies. He had sustained the injury two days earlier during Wednesday night's 4-1 win over the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

An MRI on Hernández revealed a Grade 1 strain, which was encouraging news for the Dodgers. They don't have a timeline for his return, but he should miss at least a few weeks. L.A. may take it slower with Hernández, considering that a similar injury last year -- a left groin strain that sidelined him for two weeks last May -- lingered throughout the season.

"Once he gets going, we're hoping it'll be a quick return, and we'll try to get him some rehab at-bats," general manager Brandon Gomes said. "When that happened last year, we probably rushed it a bit on that front, so we're kind of getting treatment for the next however many days, and then as he starts getting into things, how he's responding, we'll see. But it's not as severe as we had thought it was."

Hernández grounded out to shortstop in his lone at-bat of Wednesday's contest in the second inning. He did not look comfortable while running to first base, grabbing at the back of his left leg and moving slowly as he returned to the dugout.

On the SportsNet LA broadcast, Hernández was shown slamming his helmet in frustration in the dugout and grabbing at his hamstring once more before heading for the home clubhouse.

"Disappointing," Roberts said. "He's been playing so well, and he's a big part of what we're doing. So to lose him for any length of time is not great."

Hernández was hitting .276 with a .785 OPS, riding a surge at the plate after being dropped as low as the eighth spot in the lineup in early May. He had started all but six of the Dodgers' first 56 games in left field.

The Dodgers will fill Hernández's spot in left field with a platoon. Alex Call will see the bulk of the playing time there, starting against left-handers and some righties. No. 19 prospect Ryan Ward, who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City as the corresponding move to place Hernández on the IL, will get starts against right-handed pitching.

James Tibbs III, the Dodgers' No. 10 prospect, has been tearing up Triple-A, entering Friday slashing .310/.413/.616 with 14 homers and 44 RBIs. But since Tibbs is not on the 40-man roster and Hernández is not expected to miss significant time, L.A. opted to bring up Ward, who hit .254 with a .797 OPS for the Comets.

"I think [Tibbs is] performing great, obviously. The numbers are fantastic," Gomes said. "I just think Wardo has done this for a while, and he's certainly earned it. His numbers were nothing to scoff at in Triple-A either, especially when you break out the vs. right stuff. Wardo's done it before. He's done it for a while. It's good to get him back up and into the mix, and hopefully get a real opportunity here."