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 The left fielder drove in two runs, and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu
delivered a solid performance, sparking the Dodgers to a 6-1 romp
over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
"We're starting to have a lot more fun," said Kemp, who went 2-for-5
and registered his sixth multi-hit game in the last 11 contests.
"We've had a tough little stretch, but that happens in baseball.
Every team has that, and we hit ours early. Hopefully, we don't hit
one of those again and we can stay consistent and keep grinding it
out."
Second baseman Dee Gordon's four-hit performance helped the Dodgers,
who won for the third time in four games, snap Colorado's five-game
winning streak. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez, catcher A.J. Ellis and
right fielder Yasiel Puig each drove in a run for Los Angeles.
Gordon, who reached base five times, also produced one of the game's
highlights, legging out a triple and scoring on an error when
Colorado left fielder Charlie Blackmon couldn't get a handle on the
ball. The third-inning play resulted in the game's first run.
"I thought it was an inside-the-park (homer) to be honest with you,"
said Gordon, who leads the National League-leading with seven
triples. Gordon also scored two runs and walked once. "I thought
(the ball) scooted away from him. It is what it is. I'll be all
right with what I got."
Ryu (8-3) limited the Rockies to a run and three hits in six innings
while striking out six and walking one. One of Ryu's few mistakes
was serving up a solo homer to Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario in the
fourth inning.
Four Dodgers relievers held Colorado (34-36) to no runs and one hit
over the final three innings.
Colorado rookie left-hander Tyler Matzek (1-1) allowed three runs on
10 hits with two walks and no strikeouts in five innings. Matzek,
who made his second major league start in front of family and
friends from nearby Orange County, could not duplicate his initial
outing, when he recorded seven strikeouts in a win over the Atlanta
Braves on June 11.
"He had some traffic, but I thought he pitched out of it pretty
well," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "He gave us a chance to
win. I thought he did a nice job."
Kemp's RBI double and a run-scoring single by Ramirez gave the
Dodgers a 5-1 lead in the sixth. Puig's RBI infield single capped
the scoring.
In the third inning, following a walk to Ramirez and a single by
Puig, Kemp stroked a base hit to left, scoring Ramirez for a 2-0
advantage.
"I'm feeling good," said Kemp, who is batting .417 since June 6. "I
think we're swinging the bats well as a team. I'm having better
at-bats and getting better pitches to hit."
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Rosario slammed an 0-2 pitch from Ryu into the pavilion in left
for a solo home run with two outs in the fourth to pull the Rockies
within 2-1. However, they scored no more as Ryu got in a groove.
"I though Ryu settled in pretty well," Weiss said. "He's tough.
Pitched well with his fastball and changeup. We've seen him be real
tough on us before. He was real good tonight."
Puig scored on an RBI single by Ellis with two outs in the fifth to
make it 3-1 for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers (38-34) got a break in the first when Colorado first
baseman Justin Morneau's two-out double in the gap in right-center
bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, preventing right
fielder Brandon Barnes from scoring easily from first. Ryu struck
out center fielder Drew Stubbs to end the threat.
NOTES: The Dodgers observed a moment of silence before the game for
Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who died Monday morning of cancer. He was
54. ... Colorado called up LF Kyle Parker from Triple-A Colorado
Springs on Monday. He made his major league debut and struck out as
a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. ... The club optioned RHP Juan
Nicasio to Colorado Springs. In his past four starts, Nicasio was
0-3 with a 14.36 ERA, leaving him 5-5 with a 5.92 ERA for the
season. ... Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez did not play because manager
Don Mattingly wanted to give the slugger a break. Scott Van Slyke
started in Gonzalez's place and went 1-for-5. ... In the first
inning, Dodgers 2B Dee Gordon was caught stealing for only the fifth
time in 41 attempts. Gordon leads the majors in steals. ... A crowd
of 44,077 attended the game.
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