PITTSBURGH -- After getting a limited amount of sleep and subjecting himself to the chilly conditions that surrounded Friday afternoon's 5-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park, Matt Kemp developed a tight right hamstring that forced him and his red-hot bat to make an early exit.
Kemp was removed from the game immediately after he concluded his third straight multihit game with a single in the sixth inning. The issue developed early in the game and worsened when he made a diving catch to rob Josh Harrison of a hit in the fifth inning, but he was granted one more plate appearance before making what appeared to be just a precautionary exit.
"I've pulled hamstrings before, so I know the bad ones and the good ones," Kemp said. "This one is just tight, and I didn't want to push it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, and we'll go from there."
Manager Brian Snitker didn't rule out the possibility of Kemp returning to action on Saturday, when the temperature is expected to be much warmer. But he's also not going to take any chances with his outfielder, who has gone 8-for-16 with four doubles and two home runs through the season's first four games.
"He'll be day to day," Snitker said. "There's just some tightness. He hated coming out, but I just didn't want to take a chance on a day like this. He'll get a full night's sleep, and it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. We'll see what he feels like when he comes in."
After playing the Mets on Thursday night at Citi Field, the Braves waited nearly two hours on LaGuardia International's tarmac. They arrived at their downtown Pittsburgh hotel at around 4 a.m. ET, and Kemp was awake by 9 a.m. to begin prepping for Friday afternoon's game.
The tough travel, combined with a game-time temperature of 37 degrees, didn't help Kemp, whose hamstring felt tight during the early innings and then became more uncomfortable after he made the diving catch.

"It got a little tight," Kemp said. "I don't think it's anything really crazy, but we just have to be safe and careful with these things. These things have happened to me before. You've just got to be careful."