Florida @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 6, 2010 ) Florida 3, LA Dodgers 7
Matt Kemp has made a swift climb from the doghouse to again being top dog.
The Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder has been on a tear since returning to the lineup after a brief benching in late June by manager Joe Torre.
Kemp hit a two-run homer and stole two bases Tuesday as the Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins 7-3 in the middle game of a three-game series that concludes Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Kemp went 2-for-5 on Tuesday for his fifth multi-hit contest in seven games. It was almost a two-homer night for Kemp but his sixth-inning drive was caught up against the left-center field fence by Florida’s Cody Ross.
During the stretch, Kemp is batting .355 (11-of-31) with four homers and nine RBIs.
Kemp was hitting over .300 in late April before slumping and seeing his average fall to .257 in late June. A benching ensued, but it was shortened by Manny Ramirez’s hamstring injury.
Despite some struggles this season, Kemp has 16 homers and 49 RBIs. Last year, he had 26 homers and 101 RBIs, both career highs.
The Dodgers could use some continued hot hitting today from Kemp when they face Marlins All-Star pitcher Josh Johnson, who was the National League Pitcher of the Month in June.
Johnson had a 1.18 earned-run average in June and recently ended a stretch in which he allowed one earned run or less in eight straight starts, a feat topped only by Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (11 straight for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968).
Johnson (8-3) leads the majors with a 1.82 earned-run average. He has 115 strikeouts and just 27 walks in 114 innings.
In his only outing against the Dodgers this season, Johnson took a no-decision by giving up three runs and eight hits in five innings in early April.
Johnson has a 2-1 record but a high ERA of 6.23 in five career starts against Los Angeles.
Several Dodgers have hit well against Johnson, including Casey Blake (.600 in five at-bats), Andre Ethier (.500 in 10 at-bats), Russell Martin (.429 in seven at-bats) and Rafael Furcal (.308 in 13 at-bats).
Hiroki Kuroda will oppose Johnson. Kuroda beat the Marlins in April when he gave up just one unearned run and five hits in eight innings.
Kuroda was torched by the Arizona Diamondbacks in his last outing. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings and gave up six runs and eight hits. The rough outing led to Kuroda’s ERA ballooning to 3.78.
Tuesday’s victory over the Marlins was only the fifth for the Dodgers in 15 games against NL East teams this season. Los Angeles is 2-3 against Florida.
Furcal scored a run for the 12th straight game. The last Dodgers player to score a run in a dozen consecutive games was Gil Hodges in 1953.
Meanwhile, Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez was named NL Rookie of the Month for June. He hit .375 with four homers and 16 RBIs in the month. Sanchez leads the Marlins in hitting (.305).