The Los Angeles Dodgers’ rough start to the season continued on Friday night, as their comeback attempt against the Arizona Diamondbacks fell short, resulting in an 8-7 loss.
There were some positives to take away from the game though, as the Dodgers strung together good at-bats late and scored six runs from the sixth inning on. The late production, which included a bit of luck, was a glimpse of the magic the 2017 club had.
However, the Dodgers did suffer a scare in the eighth inning, as Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed hit a solo home run to left field off reliever J.T. Chargois. Matt Kemp made a leaping attempt to bring the ball back and crashed into the wall in left field.
After the game it was revealed that Kemp suffered a knee contusion, although he expects to be ready to go for Saturday’s game, via J.P Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Kemp says he’s fine. “Trust me, I’ll be back in there tomorrow.”
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) April 14, 2018
If Kemp were to miss any games the timing would be a bit unfortunate, as he is one of the Dodgers best hitters right now, slashing .333/.385/.500. Batting third for the first time this season, Kemp went 1-for-5 with an RBI single in the loss to the Diamondbacks.
Kemp’s ideal replacement in left field would be Andrew Toles, but he suffered a hamstring pull while playing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday night and may be out for around a week.
Potentially facing a scenario where they’re without Kemp and Toles, the Dodgers could turn to a platoon of sorts with Kiké Hernandez and Joc Pederson.
