A.J. Ellis wrapping up rehab; Kemp taking BP

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis is on track to come off the disabled list Friday, but injured outfielder Matt Kemp doesn't have a timetable to begin a Minor League rehab assignment.

Ellis played in his second and final rehab game on Wednesday as the designated hitter with Class A Rancho Cucamonga, going 0-for-3. He will travel with the Dodgers to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night and is expected to be activated for the opener of a three-game series that begins Friday, manager Don Mattingly said.

Ellis, out with a strained left oblique since May 30, began his rehab assignment on Tuesday and went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter for the Quakes.

"Yesterday he crossed off pretty much everything he needed to," Mattingly said Wednesday before the Dodgers' game against the D-backs.

As for Kemp, Mattingly said he didn't know when the center fielder would be ready to play in rehab games. Kemp, on the disabled list since May 30 with a strained right hamstring, took batting practice on Wednesday and did some light running at Dodger Stadium.

"He's still kind of progressing," Mattingly said. "It's just going to be a matter of him saying he's OK to go out. I know we want to be careful. We don't want him to go backwards."