Kemp, Puig homers lift Dodgers past Giants
SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Kemp believes he can be a driving force in the Los Angeles Dodgers' bid for a championship next month.
In the meantime, he just wants to be one of many healthy contributors in the Dodgers' final preparations.
Yasiel Puig, hit by a pitch, responded to hitting a home run in his next plate appearance, and Kemp broke a tie with another solo shot one inning later as the Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series.
The win allowed the Dodgers (91-66) to keep pace with the Atlanta Braves (93-64) and the St. Louis Cardinals (93-65) in the battle among National League division winners for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
While assuring he's ready for the Braves, Cardinals or whichever team the Dodgers draw in the NL Division Series next week, Kemp admitted he still has work to do after hitting his first home run since July 21, a stretch of 25 at-bats.
"Me and Big Mac (hitting coach Mark McGwire) worked in the cage today. It felt pretty good," said Kemp, who was slowed by hamstring and shoulder injuries this season. "Definitely every day gets better and better. Right now I'm just worried about the next five games. Getting better and better. Then I'll worry about the playoffs."
Kemp, who is 8-for-24 (.333) since returning from his most recent stint on the disabled list, said he felt as good about his single to right-center field in the seventh inning as he did about his 443-foot blast into the bleachers in left-center field in his previous at-bat.
"When I'm hitting good, I'm hitting the ball to left-center and I'm hitting the ball to right-center," he noted. "That's what I did tonight."
Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-7) won a pitchers' duel with Matt Cain (8-10), allowing only a solo home run to Tony Abreu over seven innings.
In snapping a personal two-game losing streak in which he allowed only five runs, Ryu gave up only three hits -- all singles -- other than the home run. He struck out six and walked one.
Brian Wilson, making his first appearance for the Dodgers in San Francisco after he was last seen at AT&T Park as the Giants' closer, relieved Ryu to start the eighth and struck out two of the three men he faced in a scoreless inning.
He said the experience was no big deal, but the Giants' 241st consecutive sellout crowd clearly didn't agree. Wilson, who closed out San Francisco's 2010 World Series win in Texas, was greeted by a loud mix of boos that washed out a mostly standing ovation.
"You're not going to get a rise out of me," he said afterward. "I did my job. I did that (as a Giant), too."
Kenley Jansen worked around a one-out single by Buster Posey in the ninth, stranding the tying run in scoring position for his 28th save.
Cain, who entered the game with the sixth-best ERA since the All-Star break, began to demonstrate a vulnerability when he walked the bases loaded before retaining a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. He walked just one batter in his previous two starts.
Puig's homer, 10 rows deep into the center field bleachers, was his 19th of the season and came on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning. It also was Cain's first offering to the standout rookie since plunking him with a fastball in the third.
Afterward, Cain chose to focus his comments on one Dodger -- former teammate Wilson.
"Definitely a little different watching him come in from over there," he said of the visitors' bullpen on the right field side of AT&T Park. "It's part of the game, guys getting moved around a bit. We're happy he's healthy."
The hit-by-pitch was Puig's 11th of the season, the ninth most among all major-leaguers. He homered for the third time in a game in which he also got plunked.
Nothing Puig does surprises his teammates, according to Kemp.
"We've all been hit by pitches before," Kemp said. "He responded well by hitting a home run."
The Giants got even on Abreu's second homer of the year in the bottom of the inning. However, the tie didn't survive the first batter of the sixth, as Kemp belted his sixth homer to left-center for a 2-1 Dodgers lead.
"It felt really, really good," Kemp said. "Every time you hit a home run, it's an 'aha' feeling."
Carl Crawford had a double and two singles for the Dodgers, who out-hit the Giants 8-5.
The homers were the 22nd and 23rd allowed by Cain this season, a career high. He threw seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. It was his 12th consecutive start giving up three runs or fewer. Cain walked three and struck out four.
The loss dropped the Giants under .500 at home this season, 38-39.
NOTES: Crawford's three-hit game was his eighth since July 5. ... The last Dodgers rookie to hit more than 19 home runs was C Mike Piazza, who smacked 35 in 1993. ... Dodgers OF Andre Ethier had to abort an attempted return to the lineup after experiencing recurring pain in his left ankle during a pregame workout. It's possible that Ethier, who hasn't started a game since Sept. 13, will not see any more action in the regular season. ... San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy announced before the game that LHP Barry Zito, likely playing his final six games as a Giant this week, will start one of the club's three games against the San Diego Padres. It appears that will occur Saturday. ... The Giants shut down 2B Marco Scutaro (swollen left ring finger) for the rest of the season.
