Matt Kemp wasnr17;t supposed to last long in his return to Los Angeles. He was tabbed as trade bait after arriving from Atlanta in exchange for a salary dump by the Dodgers.
The 33-year-old slugger has made himself at home again in a hurry.
Kemp got three hits and drove in four runs Kirk Cousins Jersey Big , including a go-ahead homer leading off the eighth inning that rallied the Dodgers past the Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Sunday to prevent a sweep and end a three-game skid.
Kemp is on track to earn his third All-Star nod and first since 2012. Her17;s the second-leading vote-getter, ahead of Washingtonr17;s Bryce Harper, among NL outfielders.
r1;Thatr17;s what the All-Star Game is, having a good first half,r1; Kemp said. r1;My real focus is trying to get to the playoffs and win a championship, something Ir17;ve never done.r1;
Kemp was 1 for 6 in the first two games of the series, which the Dodgers lost by identical scores of 3-1. He has been solid in his last 14 games against Colorado, batting .438 with 11 RBIs.
r1;He showed in spring training he was in shape and was hitting from the start,r1; Dodgers starter Ross Stripling said.
Kemp sent his 14th homer of the season over the center-field wall off Adam Ottavino (4-2) to put Los Angeles ahead 5-4. It was the Dodgersr17; first homer of July after they hit a major league-leading and franchise-record 55 in June.
One out later, Yasiel Puig doubled. Joc Pederson followed and reached on an infield single to second that DJ LeMahieu dived to stop. Puig made a heads-up baserunning play when he scored an insurance run after taking an extra base on Pedersonr17;s hit.
Puig took advantage of LeMahieur17;s soft throw from his knees to first baseman Ian Desmond.
r1;DJ slipped,r1; Rockies manager Bud Black said. r1;If DJ wanted to do it over again he would probably give a firmer throw to Desmond to get it back in.r1;
Puig hopped back and forth before taking off for the plate, sliding belly first. He got up and swung his arms in wild celebration with the Dodgers ahead 6-4.
r1;I do my crazy move and score,r1; Puig said. r1;I said in my mind, `Her17;s not going to throw me out, Ir17;m going home.r17; Not too many players who score from third base in that situation.r1;
Kemp agreed, saying, r1;Everyone is living right.r1;
Kemp drove in the Dodgersr17; first three runs with an RBI groundout in the first, a double in the third and a single in the fifth.
Daniel Hudson (3-2) went one inning. Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.
Nolan Arenado hit his team-leading 21st homer and had an RBI grounder Authentic Harrison Smith Jersey , helping the Rockies take a 4-2 lead in the fifth.
Rockies starter Chad Bettis was pulled after three innings because of fluid underneath a callus on his right middle finger. The right-hander allowed two runs and three hits, struck out two and walked two in his shortest outing of the season.
r1;It is really painful,r1; Bettis said. r1;It is kind of something that is a little bit of a mental block trying to battle through that pain. I felt like it got to the point where I really needed to say something.r1;
Stripling gave up four runs and a season-high nine hits in six innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one.
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Rockies: RHP Bryan Shaw (right calf strain) will throw a bullpen session on Monday and simulated game on Wednesday. He is working on mechanics with his delivery and more consistent pitch locations.
UP NEXT
Rockies: LHP Kyle Freeland (7-6, 3.29 ERA) makes his second straight start against the Giants on Monday in the home opener of a three-game set. He is 3-1 with a 2.91 ERA at Coors Field in his career against them.
Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood (4-5, 4.00) starts on Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the Pirates. In eight games (seven starts) against them, Wood is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA.
r12;
Kendrys Morales ditched his glasses and found his swing.
Morales connected for a pinch-hit homer in the 10th inning, sending the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.
Morales hit a two-out drive to right off Hansel Robles for his eighth homer. Robles (2-3) was making his Angels debut after he was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets.
The 35-year-old Morales made his major league debut with Los Angeles in 2006 and played for the Angels for six years.
r1;It always feels good, I donr17;t think it matters more or less that it was the team that signed me,r1; Morales said through an interpreter. r1;That was a good moment and Ir17;ll take it and Ir17;m happy for it.r1;
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons thinks therer17;s something to Morales not using the glasses he tried.
r1;Her17;s always been a good hitter. Her17;s always been a dangerous hitter,r1; Gibbons said. r1;I was telling somebody the other day, he got rid of his glasses. The glasses were screwing him up.r1;
Curtis Granderson, Aledmys Diaz and Devon Travis also homered for Toronto, which split the four-game series after dropping the first two. Diaz had two hits and scored three times.
Travis praised Gibbons for sending Morales to the plate in the 10th.
r1;Two outs, putting Kendrys in in that situation. Her17;s a good hitter. That was awesome,r1; Travis said. r1;Kendrys has been swinging the bat so well really all year. You can look at his numbers and they donr17;t quite tell the story. I feel every time the guy goes to the box he puts the barrel on the ball, he puts up a good at-bat and just happy things have been going better in the luck department lately. That was a big one right there. Her17;s a guy in this locker room that gels everyone together.r1;
The Blue Jays had a 6-3 lead before the Angels rallied in the eighth, taking advantage of two errors. Ryan Tepera (5-2) replaced Aaron Loup with two out and the bases loaded, and Martin Maldonado responded with a three-run double to left.
Tepera then picked Maldonado off second to end the inning. He also worked the ninth Harrison Smith Jersey Big , and Tyler Clippard got three outs for his fourth save.
Toronto jumped in front on Travisr17; three-run homer off Felix Pena in the second. Diaz hit a tiebreaking leadoff drive in the sixth, and Granderson added his seventh of the season with two out.
Justin Upton hit his 17th homer for the Angels, and Maldonado had two hits and four RBIs. Pena, a converted reliever making his second career start, allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.
r1;We battled back. We didnr17;t do enough things in the end,r1; Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. r1;We couldnr17;t keep it in the park. They hit four home runs off us. We do a good job getting back in games.r1;
FREE TIME
Angels star Mike Trout has some free time during games when he serves as the designated hitter. His sprained index finger has kept him from playing center field, which can make for some restless moments.
r1;Ir17;m going to tell him to go play catch in left field and roll it back left-handed so he can feel like he plays some defense. He goes crazy in the dugout,r1; Scioscia said. r1;DHing is not easy, especially when your17;re used to the everyday separation of going out there and focusing on defense. The best thing to get an at-bat out of your head is to go out and play defense.r1;
PITCHING WITH PURPOSE
Toronto right-hander Sam Gaviglio was charged with three runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings in his first start back from paternity leave. Gaviglior17;s daughter, Livia, was born on Tuesday.
r1;It was nice. Itr17;s like riding a bike,r1; Gaviglio said. r1;Itr17;s just another baseball game.r1;
TRAINERr17;S ROOM
Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs, who was scratched on Thursday with hamstring tightness, came out of his bullpen session Saturday with no problems and will start Monday.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (9-3, 3.56 ERA) pitches Monday against Houston. Happ has allowed no runs in two of his last three starts.
Angels: Skaggs (6-4, 2.81 ERA) is all set for a makeup game at Kansas City. He is 3-0 with a sparkling 0.45 ERA in June.
