Matt Kemp Pushes Dodgers Closer to NL West Crown

After the Los Angeles Dodgers crushed the San Francisco Giants 17-0 last Saturday, then went on to win the weekend series behind Clayton Kershaw on Sunday, it just felt like the Dodgers had ALL of the momentum in clinching the National League West crown for the second consecutive season. Unfortunately, the Dodgers lost back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Colorado by a combined score of 26-6, and all of a sudden, the Giants were alive and well in the division race. With the Giants only two games back entering their weekend series down in San Diego, the Dodgers knew that they had to take advantage of what should have been a relatively easy four-game series in Chicago against the Cubs.

Sep 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis (17) react after beating the Chicago Cubs 8-5 in the game at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the Dodgers blew a five-run lead and lost on Saturday, they ended up taking three out of four games at Wrigley Field, and without breaking much of a sweat–they won those three games by a combined score of 30-14. Meanwhile, the Giants fell flat on their faces in San Diego–getting swept–and now find themselves four and a half games back of the Dodgers entering the final showdown series that starts tonight at Dodger Stadium.

Who was leading the charge, yet again, on Sunday? Yep, moody, ill-tempered, underachieving, malcontent, Matt Kemp. Oh, so you don’t remember using all those terms to describe him back in May? Ok, we’ll let that slide. After the Dodgers’ loss to the Chicago White Sox on June 4th, Kemp was hitting .238 and only had five home runs and 15 runs batted in on the season. He was also still brooding over the multi-game benching he had received at the hands of Manager Don Mattingly a week earlier when the Dodgers were no longer sure where they could play him in the field.

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With the vultures circling, and most observers expecting Kemp to get traded at the first sight of a ‘fair enough’ offer, Kemp remembered that he had been the best player in the major leagues entering the 2012 season–just two years ago. After tweaking his batting stance, with the help of Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire, and assistant hitting coach John Valentin, Kemp came alive, and since June 4th, has hit .312 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. He also settled in as the Dodgers’ new right fielder, and he has looked great after seemingly losing his bearings in center field.

In Sunday’s game, it was all Matt Kemp–four hits, one home run, four RBIs, and an important Dodgers victory to help push the Dodgers even closer to securing the NL West. During the final three games of the series, Kemp went 7-for-13 with two home runs and seven RBIs, and he scored five runs.

Sep 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Matt Kemp (27) after he hits a two-run home run in the third inning in the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

During the series, though, Kemp had a LOT of help from his teammates. Yasiel Puig finally woke up and went 9-for-18 with nine runs scored, one home run, and four RBIs. Hanley Ramirez went 7-for-14 with four runs scored and two RBIs. And, during the final three games of the series, Adrian Gonzalez went 5-for-13 with two home runs, six RBIs, and five runs scored.

With the Dodgers finally, collectively, hitting their stride at the plate, and Kershaw and Zack Greinke still leading the charge from the mound, the team looks ready for the postseason. With Hyun-jin Ryu expected back (hopefully) for the divisional series, the Dodgers have everything going their way, except for perhaps that nagging bullpen issue that reared its ugly head in Saturday’s embarrassing loss. Right now, that appears to be the only thing that could get in their way. For Matt Kemp, though, he’s just glad to finally be part of the solution, and no longer the problem.