Padres hope hot-hitting Cabrera returns soon

SAN FRANCISCO -- Shortstop Everth Cabrera, who left Sunday's victory over the D-backs with a sore left hamstring, could miss this three-game series against the Giants at AT&T Park.

Cabrera has what manager Bud Black termed a mild left hamstring strain and Black said the Padres will allow him to rest and rehabilitate the injury before deciding if a disabled-list stint is necessary.

"We're going to keep an eye on him for a few days," said Black. "We didn't want to be too quick to pull the trigger on the disabled list just yet."

Cabrera suffered the injury trying to steal second base in the eighth inning Sunday. Newcomer Pedro Ciriaco got the start Monday against the Giants.

Cabrera leads the team in runs (37) and hits (84), is tied for the Major League lead in stolen bases (31) and has a .305 average and a .382 on-base percentage while playing a demanding position.

"It's better to miss two or three games here and come back as quick as I can," Cabrera said. "... I feel all right. I feel I can play but don't want to play at 50 percent. They said we will give it a couple of days and see how I feel."

Cabrera received treatment before Monday's game and will continue to do so. The last thing he wants -- and the Padres, for that matter -- is for him to rush back at the risk of causing more damage.

"We're playing good right now. How I feel now, I don't want to miss any time. I don't want to be on the DL," he said.

The Padres currently have three position players who were in their Opening Day lineup on the disabled list -- second baseman Jedd Gyorko, center fielder Cameron Maybin and first baseman Yonder Alonso.

The Padres have been able to absorb the injuries because of quality depth, but they don't have another player on the roster with the dynamic skill set that Cabrera has.

"He's arguably been our best player," Black said. "He's playing a premium position at a high level for us. For me, he was and he still is tracking toward [playing in] the All-Star Game."