Puig out, Kemp in for Dodgers home opener

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Yasiel Puig was scratched from the starting lineup after arriving late for the Los Angeles Dodgers' home opener on Friday.

The rest of the team was already on the field stretching before batting practice while Puig was getting dressed in the clubhouse. He had been slated to start in right field for the afternoon game against the San Francisco Giants, who beat the Dodgers 8-4.

"I'm sincerely sorry," Puig said through a translator after the game, explaining that he didn't realize stretching and batting practice would be held so early with a 1 p.m. start.

Puig said he apologized to manager Don Mattingly and his teammates, and they accepted.

"They felt it was OK when I owned up to it and apologized," he said. "I felt bad I wasn't out there playing for all the fans."

Instead, Matt Kemp replaced Puig in the lineup after manager Don Mattingly had earlier said Kemp wouldn't start. Kemp came off the disabled list on Friday after rehabilitating from left ankle and shoulder operations. He was limited to 279 games during the last two seasons because of injuries.

Puig, last year's runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year, was 5 for 20 through his first five games of the season. He wasn't used as a pinch-hitter because Mattingly said the situation didn't call for it. The Dodgers trailed 8-0 after two innings.

Mattingly downplayed Puig's mistake.

"He truly felt bad," the manager said. "You can tell by his body language; he doesn't hide things well."

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Puig out, Kemp in for Dodgers home opener