Kemp on bench for fifth straight game

LOS ANGELES -- Two-time Gold Glove center fielder Matt Kemp was not in the Dodgers' starting lineup for a fifth consecutive game, but he did get some extensive pregame work in left field for the first time during his absence.

"Really, it's just a question of him saying, 'I feel comfortable in left field,'" Mattingly said. The manager also reiterated this move does not preclude Kemp from playing center field as well. Ethier started his fifth game in a row there.

"We don't see the same starting and stopping," Mattingly said of Kemp's movement on defense. "He really hasn't played much the past two years, and he's had major surgeries (ankle in October 2013, shoulder in October 2012), so it's understandable.

"I'm really confident that this guy is going to get back where he was before."

Scott Van Slyke was used in left field in a double-switch situation in the eighth inning on Monday night. Asked whether Kemp is ready for such use, Mattingly said: "When he tells me he's comfortable."