Justin Upton joins Kemp on sidelines with neck strain
By Bill Center
Justin Upton suffered a neck strain Wednesday night when he slid head-first into the padded wall down the left-field foul line.
But extensive tests conducted on Wednesday night showed no signs of a concussion or neurological injuries.
“It was scary,” assistant general manager Josh Stein said early Thursday afternoon of Upton’s collision. “He is doing better. He has soreness around the neck and behind his neck. But everything checked out neurologically. There are no signs of a concussion. He didn’t lose consciousness.”
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Upton was not in Thursday afternoon’s lineup for the home finale at Petco Park and it is highly doubtful he will play in any of the season’s final three games at Dodger Stadium this weekend — although the Padres withheld any determination of his availability.
For the first time this season, the Padres filed a starting lineup with both Justin Upton and Matt Kemp unavailable.
Will Myers will start in left and Travis Jankowski in right. Brett Wallace will be at first base for the 3:40 p.m. start against the Brewers at Petco Park.
Padres interim-manager Pat Murphy spoke about his time as the Padres manager during the daily pre-game media session.
“There have been a lot of emotions,” said Murphy. “Managing in the big leagues is so much different. You can’t do anything about injuries or other teams playing well.”
Murphy said he is still is undecided about starting James Shields in the season finale on Sunday.
