Dodger
star Matt Kemp heard the cheers as he took the field for the first time
in two weeks after recovering from a hamstring injury. He then heard a
cascade of boos when Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, who beat out Kemp for the
NL MVP last year, stepped to the plate.
Braun, likely booed more
for his alleged PED use than for being picked over Kemp, paid back the
hostile Dodgers faithful with a two-run blast into the right-field
bullpen — all the runs the Brewers needed to beat LA, 2-1.
However,
the night centered on Kemp, whose team went 9-5 in the 14 games he
missed. After going 0 for 3 against rookie Mike Fiers with a
first-inning strikeout, he nearly engineered another of the dramatic
finishes he's provided on a regular basis the past two seasons.
Kemp
led off the ninth with a double after a nine-pitch at-bat and was
joined on base by Andre Ethier, who doubled in the Dodgers’ only run in
the sixth inning and was hit on the right elbow with a 98-mph fastball
from closer John Axford, setting up a sacrifice situation to move the
tying and winning runs into scoring position.
However, Axford got
Jerry Hairston Jr. to ground into a double play after he twice failed
to bunt the runners over, and James Loney grounded out to short. It was
Axford's ninth save in 10 opportunities, and marked the fourth time the
Dodgers have dropped a one-run game to Milwaukee.
“All our games
are (close),” manager Don Mattingly said. “That's nothing new for us. I
thought Matt had a really good at-bat in the ninth. Really good. It's
not going to take him long to get all the way back. I thought all his
at-bats were good.”
Kemp agreed, saying he felt good all game long.
“I
didn't feel uncomfortable at all,” he said, having played two rehab
games with Albuquerque, going 5 for 7 with two homers. “I had some
pretty good at-bats. Other than the fact that we lost, I was happy with
what I did.
“No problems with (the hamstring). I was ready to go. I
don't even feel it, which is good. I'm definitely confident in my leg
and I have to get back to being the old Matt.”
Kemp also said his teammates picked up the slack while he was in recovery mode.
“They
held the fort down for the past two weeks. They did a great job,
playing good baseball and getting (it) done. But I'm back now and it's
really time to go to work.
“I wasn't quite used to being a
cheerleader: I think my only other time on the DL was in my rookie year.
But I think I did a pretty good job and helped the boys out.
“It
was very tough to be out, especially with the (team) playing so well.
There's been a lot of guys stepping up, doing a great job. Tony (Gwynn
Jr.), A.J. (Ellis), all the guys who've gotten big hits while I've been
gone. Hopefully they'll continue the same now that I'm back.”
They'll
get another chance to beat the Brewers on Wednesday night as Cy Young
winner Clayton Kershaw (4-2) goes against Yovani Gallardo (3-4).
Notes:
Milwaukee had a historical first for its organization, as Fiers and
catcher Martin Maldonado became the first Brewers battery to make their
first major league starts on the same night. Fiers (1-0) was
outstanding, giving up just one run and five hits over seven innings and
racking up three strikeouts without a walk. Nathan Eovaldi, 22, made
his first start of the season and took the loss.
