News
Kemp emerging as five-tool star
Los Angeles (66-42) vs. Atlanta (55-53), 7:10 p.m. PT
By David Ely / MLB.com
08/06/09 2:00 AM ET
LOS ANGELES -- Sparked by a 4-for-5 performance in the Dodgers' 17-4 win against the Brewers on Tuesday, Matt Kemp began Wednesday's game tied for fourth in the National League with a .323 batting average. That stat shouldn't be a total shocker. Despite Kemp's youth, he's been consistently one of the Dodgers' top hitters for average and has been above .300 since May 30. But the fact that Kemp is positioning himself for a possible run at the NL batting crown comes as a surprise to manager Joe Torre. "I would never have dreamed on the batting average side," Torre said of Kemp's No. 4 status, "but he gets a lot of soft base hits because his speed helps him on some of them. "This kid, of all the youngsters, has really surprised me how quickly [he has developed]. I think everybody knew how impressive his tools were." Tools meaning a mix of speed and power that lets Kemp line balls into the gaps for extra-base hits and dig out slow choppers for singles. That speed is evident in his 22 stolen bases on the year, good for seventh in the league. Despite Kemp's package of skills, Torre finds it hard to compare Kemp to other elite players in baseball. "I think it's unfair to him to think he's going to be another Alex [Rodriguez] or guys like that," Torre said. "But I know one thing, when he hits that ball in the air, it doesn't come down, and he's very aggressive." Torre said that one of the differences in the Kemp of 2009 from the Kemp of 2008 is his ability to have quality at-bats of a regular basis. "He may have a couple of bad swings, last year he may have given up an at-bat when you saw him do it," Torre said. "But he keeps battling it. It's not always pretty, but he fights to put the ball in play." Pitching matchupLAD: LHP Randy Wolf (5-6, 3.47 ERA)
Wolf deserved a better fate than the most recent loss in Atlanta, but that's the way his season has gone. Sloppy Dodgers defense in the seventh turned a win into a loss, although he did allow nine hits and two walks in six innings, the first non-quality start since June 24. He comes right back against the Braves at home and is 4-12 lifetime against them and 0-5 since 2004. ATL: RHP Derek Lowe (11-7, 4.21 ERA)
Lowe beat his former teammates on Saturday in Atlanta, thanks to a late-inning comeback by his offense. After spending the past four seasons in Dodger blue, Lowe threw six innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Besides a shaky fourth inning in which he walked two batters and surrendered two runs, Lowe limited the Dodgers to a solo home run by Andre Ethier. In 66 career starts at Dodger Stadium, Lowe is 33-23 with a 3.21 ERA. His last start there came on Sept. 21 of last season, when he pitched seven shutout innings against the Giants. Tidbits
With a 4-1 loss Wednesday, the Dodgers lost a series to the Brewers for the first time since April 2-4, 2007, snapping a string of four straight series wins. ... Rafael Furcal hit his 25th career leadoff home run Wednesday. It was his 13th leadoff shot in a Dodgers uniform. ... Furcal has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games, batting .338 (25-for-74) with 13 runs scored. Tickets
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• Friday: Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 11-6, 3.82) vs. Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 9-8, 2.85), 7:10 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 8-6, 2.89) vs. Braves (Kenshin Kawakami, 5-9, 4.38), 7:10 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 4-5, 4.44) vs. Braves (Javier Vazquez, 9-7, 2.99), 1:10 p.m. PT
David Ely is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
