LOS ANGELES -- Scott Kazmir exited Sunday's 12-6 win over the Braves in the sixth inning with cramping in his left quad, but the Dodgers left-hander doesn't expect to miss his next start.
The quad was bothering Kazmir before the game, but he just thought it was something he had to "battle through." After a two-run first inning, the tightness dissipated and he got into a groove, allowing just one hit in innings two and three.
"Even before the game, I felt like my quad was tight," Kazmir said. "I was unable to get the stride that I wanted and get that direction. I was working on it between innings and it started to loosen up."
In an odd twist of fate, Kazmir recorded the first multi-hit game of his career, and running the bases after his fifth-inning single caused the quad to tighten up.
"Getting into that sixth inning, it felt like it was getting worse instead of getting better," Kazmir said. "If don't have that direction, that drive, it's either I'm pulling it or leaving it arm-side."
A trainer visited the mound after Kazmir allowed back-to-back hits to lead off the sixth and manager Dave Roberts decided to pull him. Kazmir finished with a line of five-plus innings pitched with seven hits and three runs allowed, striking out five.