PHOENIX - Manny Ramirez is having a hard time getting sttarted because of a sore left hamstring.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger aggravated his balky hamstring Sunday while playing the outfield for the first time this spring.

Ramirez was hurt in the fourth inning of a 9-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies while chasing a ball into the left-field corner. He finished the half-inning but was lifted for pinch-hitter Delwyn Young in the bottom half.

"It's the same thing. When I was going to the line to cut off the ball on the double, I tried to push it and I felt it," Ramirez said before reciting a line he's been using all spring. "Maybe age is catching up with me."

The 36-year-old Ramirez said he didn't know if the injury was severe enough that it would have kept him out of a regular-season game.

Ramirez sat out games Thursday and Saturday for precautionary reasons after first feeling tightness in the hamstring. He said he felt pain Sunday when he chased Troy Tulowitzki's double into the corner.

"It's a little frustrating, but you have to be patient," Ramirez said. "What can you do? We'll take it day-by-day again. Today in practice I ran and I felt good. But I have been cautious. This time I pushed it and I could feel it."

Dodgers manager Joe Torre said the pain is centered just above the back of the left knee. It's actually more a tendon issue than a hamstring, so it's not a major concern for the team at this point.

Ramirez was supposed to play left field again Monday, but he will take the day off. The club plays split-squad road games against Oakland and Seattle.

Torre said no tests were planned on Ramirez's leg.

"If it doesn't get any better in a couple of days, we probably will," he said. "We have plenty of time, and he'll have plenty of at-bats even if he doesn't play the rest of the week."

Torre acknowledged, however, that Ramirez is a little concerned.

"That's why he told us about it, which is the right thing," the manager said.

Ramirez returned to the Dodgers when he agreed to a $45 million, two-year contract on March 3.

In his only other spring training game, Ramirez was the designated hitter on Friday. He walked twice before hitting a single.

In his lone at-bat on Sunday, he grounded out to the right side and said he felt no discomfort while running to first base.