Category Archives: Matt Kemp

Kemp, Dodgers Knocked Out in Colorado

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You may be wondering why the photo that accompanies this post is a jokey take on a relatively unimportant ball which fell between Mark Ellis, Andre Ethier, & Adrian Gonzalez for a hit in the bottom of the third. It didn’t lead to a run, and other than looking really bad, coming as it did shortly after a Wilin Rosario homer, it mostly had no impact on the game.

The answer is very simple: what else would we prefer to be looking at? The terrifying collision between Matt Kemp and the center field wall that sent him to the ground for five minutes and caused him to be removed with injuries to his knee and jaw? (It’s here if you’re morbid.) Chris Capuano getting smacked around for six runs and ten hits by a Colorado lineup full of “who?” and “wait, where’s Carlos Gonzalez” and “no, really, who?” A.J. Ellis dropping a nearly perfect throw from Juan Rivera that would have nailed the runner by five feet had the ball been held? Adam Kennedy grounding into a double play with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, after Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, & Ethier had set the table for at least a glimmer of hope? The entire offense failing to torch Tyler Chatwood like the fifth starter he is, other than Ramirez’ ninth inning blast which was merely cosmetic at that point?

No. You don’t want to look at any of that. So there it is; Ellis, Ethier, a giant cartoon baseball with a comically oversized vapor trail, and a woman who may or may not be wearing pants in the background. The way this game went, that’s about as serious of a remembrance as it deserves.

Dodgers 10, Giants 0: That Could Not Have Gone Better

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You know, short of seeing something historic like a perfect game or the 4+1 game, I’m trying to think of any way that today’s game could have been just more outstanding in every possible way. If I may list things out…

- Matt Kemp breaking out of his mini-slump with four hits, including a homer and two doubles

- Folk hero and all around awesome dude A.J. Ellis collecting two extra-base hits, including his 8th dinger of the year

- New favorite Hanley Ramirez picking up two more hits, including a double, giving him six hits in his first four games and at least one run scored in each

- The much-maligned Chad Billingsley throwing 7.1 shutout innings, allowing just four baserunners and not a single walk

- Mark Ellis celebrating his first time at leadoff by getting on twice and scoring each time, both on Kemp hits

- Not only winning 10-0 against the Giants, but doing it on the road while taking the series and heading into tomorrow’s finale just a game out of first place

Perfection? If not, then pretty damn close.

Matt Kemp Helps Dodgers Start off Road Trip With a Bang

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As I said on Twitter after Matt Kemp crushed a Johan Santana pitch into the bleachers in the first inning of tonight’s game, it sure is fun having Kemp back in the lineup. Kemp’s homer was just one of the three times he reached base tonight, as the Dodgers battered Santana for six runs over just three innings, including the first home run of Luis Cruz‘ big league career. Andre Ethier also reached three times, including his 24th double of the season.

Seven runs practically sounds luxurious for this team, yet nothing ever seems to come easy these days. Aaron Harang battled through five innings, but was betrayed by poor defense from Bobby Abreu (zero range in left), Jerry Hairston (two errors on the night), and Cruz (a poor relay throw home), miscues which don’t always appear as unearned runs. Hairston’s play was particularly troubling, as this is now the second time in a week that he’s made multiple errors at third base, and while he’s still producing at the plate, if he’s unable to cover the hot corner, this may force the Dodger hand in trade talks since trying to survive with Juan Uribe & Adam Kennedy is simply not an option.

In relief of Harang, Josh Lindblom struggled in allowing three of the four batters he faced to reach; Shawn Tolleson ran his stretch of consecutive batters retired to 15 before allowing an Ike Davis single and a Jordany Valdespin pinch-hit homer. Fortunately for the Dodgers, the big three of Javy Guerra, Ronald Belisario, & Kenley Jansen finished it off with 2.2 scoreless, allowing just a hit apiece. Considering it had been since something like 1982 that the Dodgers had actually put some runs on the board, it’s a good thing the bullpen held; I’m not quite sure any of us could have handled this game being given away.

Welcome Back, Matt Kemp

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In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Kemp walked to the plate in a tie game with a man on and a chance to win it. Facing Antonio Bastardo, he struck out and the Dodgers failed to score.

Bad…

In the bottom of the tenth, Kemp came up with men on the corners and the Dodgers down one, after Javy Guerra imploded in the top of the inning. With two out, he grounded to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a play which would have ended the game had Kemp not motored down the line to beat the throw by a whisker. Bobby Abreu scored, and the Dodgers had tied the score against Jonathan Papelbon to keep the game alive.

Better…

In the bottom of the twelfth, Kemp came up with one out and one on after Josh Lindblom & Jamey Wright each tossed scoreless innings. After taking ball one from Philadelphia reliever Jake Diekman, Kemp crushed the next ball over the right-center field fence, giving the Dodgers a walkoff win and avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Phillies.

Great!

If there’s any chance the Dodgers are going to succeed this season – any at all, as unlikely as that seems right now – a healthy, productive Kemp is an absolute necessity. We saw what this team missed when he was injured, and we saw what seemed to be a tentative, unsure version of Kemp in the few games since he’d returned. Even with him, it might not be enough, but this afternoon we saw just what it means to this team to have him around and contributing. Not to put undue importance on one game, yet if there was ever a time to look behind the stat sheet of a generally uninspiring team, it’s when you’re facing a sweep and about to face a cross-country flight. I can’t imagine what that trip would have been like had they wasted a Kershaw start and taken the broom from the Phillies; I’m guessing that heading out after a walkoff in front of the home crowd makes that just a little bit sweeter.

Of course, to focus on Kemp ignores how effective Clayton Kershaw was in striking out seven over eight one-run, zero-walk innings. It ignores that Luis Cruz had two doubles after the ninth inning, and that Abreu had a crucial stolen base ahead of Kemp’s infield single in the tenth. It ignores that Juan Uribe & James Loney somehow looked worse than they usually do, combining to go 0-5 with three strikeouts, an error, and zero runs out of coming up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

Those were all immensely important events in the story of today’s game, and they shouldn’t be overlooked. But I can’t think of anything more relevant to the success of this team than the return of Matt Kemp, megastar. Good to have you back.

Dodgers Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Holy Crap a Double Steal of Home!

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There’s a lot of things I love about baseball, and one of them is that you absolutely never ever know what you’re going to see on a given night. Maybe you’ll see a no-hitter, or four homers in a row, or a pinch-hit dinger on a player’s own bobblehead night. Those are all rare and wonderful things, but they exist within the plane of reality; I’m not sure I can say that having two runners steal home on the same play with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning falls under that category.

I barely even know how to talk about it. Sure, it was a gut punch. But we’ve seen blown saves and tough losses before. We know how to get over those. This? This… was on a level I’ve never seen before. The worst part is, Kenley Jansen had battled through a tough inning to get to two strikes and two outs on Alexi Amarista, before turning his back on Everth Cabrera, allowing the tying run to score, and making a poor throw to the plate, allowing the go-ahead run to score. I don’t want to hear a damn word about how Jansen doesn’t know how to close out games – over his last nine games, he had allowed exactly zero hits while striking out 14, making him one of the most dominant closers in the game – but the mental error in a situation like that is just shocking. Given that Jansen threw 26 pitches tonight after 15 yesterday, I’m sure he’ll have a day or two to think about it.

Despite the brutal loss, I don’t want to let that completely overshadow the good vibes we had for most of the night, especially on offense. I’m going to throw a dart at June and randomly come up with the 30th, a Saturday night against the Mets. That was only two weeks ago, but it seems like it could have been months or years. Dee Gordon (1-4) led off that night, with Elian Herrera (0-4) following him. Jerry Hairston (0-4) & Juan Rivera (0-3) followed for an incredibly soft 3-4 punch. Scott Van Slyke (1-3) played right field; Juan Uribe & Adam Kennedy split time at third base and combined for an 0-4 night. As a whole, the Dodgers managed just three singles against Johan Santana as they were shut out for approximately the 73rd time this year.

That was just 14 days ago, and I bring it up because it’s nearly impossible to overstate the difference and importance of a lineup that actually features real, healthy major league hitters like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, & Mark Ellis, who combined for 8 of the 11 Dodger hits tonight. Kemp & Ethier had three apiece, with Ethier driving in four of the six runs mostly thanks to his three-run homer, his first longball in more than a month. As Vin Scully noted, it had been more than two months since his last Dodger Stadium homer, that coming on May 14. (And fine, I guess I can’t ignore that Adam Kennedy had two hits as well.)

Six runs may not seem like an outburst, but for this club it’s practically historic. A month ago tonight, they beat the White Sox 7-5. Since that game, they’ve scored as many as six runs just once, in an 8-3 win over the Mets on July 1. Of course, most of that time was spent without Kemp, Ethier, & Ellis, and with everyone else struggling terrible. For the first time in longer than I care to admit, this team actually looked like it had a major-league quality offense.

As for the Padres, well, some day – perhaps some day very soon – seeing that Chase Headley & Carlos Quentin both homered in Dodger Stadium might be a cause for celebration. Unfortunately for Aaron Harang, they’re still in San Diego uniforms, so while he gave up just four hits in seven innings, two of them were responsible for three runs. Honestly, I would have pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the fifth, when he came up with men at the corners and two outs, because not only did he not get the run in, he then gave up Headley’s homer immediately after. Those runs loomed large later on, as did the run Ronald Belisario allowed, but no one will ever remember that because of what happened.

What a brutal ending. At least, I suppose, the Giants are doing the best to hand their game away as well. I’m not sure it helps.