It was odd seeing Matt Kemp in the other team’s dugout.
Kemp, now the right fielder for the Padres, was cheered
loudly in the season opener but more and more boos surfaced as he wielded a hot
bat against the Dodgers in the season-opening series that wound up last night
with a 7-4 Dodgers’ victory fueled by three home runs by Adrian Gonzalez.
Kemp, who was traded to San Diego to solve an overcrowded
outfield situation, demonstrated his 2014 second half was no fluke, giving
Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Brandon McCarthy fits.
But it was Gonzalez who earned national attention, clubbing
five dingers in the first three games, punctuated with his three-homer night on
Wednesday.
Neither Kershaw nor Greinke earned victories in their
openers, though they pitched well enough to win. McCarthy, the former
Diamondback and Yankee, tossed a strong five innings before running out of gas
in the sixth.
Paco Rodriguez, Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell and the ancient Joel
Peralta finished up for McCarthy, who got the win. The Dodgers are without
closer Kenley Jansen but hope to have him back in May.
With the loss of Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Dee Gordon in the
batting order, the Dodgers are looking to veterans Jimmy Rollins and Howie
Kendrick and rookie Joc Pederson to deliver this season. Rollins hit a
game-winning homer in the season opener and Kendrick and Pederson have had promising
at bats.
Lefty Brett Anderson will make his Los Angeles debut Friday
against Arizona. Anderson has been slowed by injuries the past several seasons.
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