BASEBALL: Many happy returns as Dodgers triumph

By J.P. Hoornstra, Staff Writer

The Dodgers' A.J. Ellis, left, and reliever Kenley Jansen celebrate Friday's 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres. (Reed Saxon / Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES - The last time Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Clayton Kershaw all played in a game together for the Dodgers, Ronald Reagan was president, "Ice Ice Baby" topped the charts and Dennis Miller anchored the "Weekend Update" desk on Saturday Night Live.

OK, maybe Friday's lineup in a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres wasn't a throwback to a different millennium, but the yearning for nostalgia at Dodger Stadium was hard-won and impatient. The proof came in the form of a thunderous ovation when Kemp stepped to the plate in the first inning; he obliged with a double to the gap in left-center.

Ethier then quieted the crowd with a routine groundout and reality set in. Even with their two best hitters occupying the middle of the order, the Dodgers rarely have suffocated opponents with their hitting this season. That's how it was when Kemp headed to the disabled list two months ago, and even more so when the team went 24-28 in his absence.

Against the Padres, the Dodgers did not crack the scoreboard until the sixth inning. That was when a two-run home run by the "other" long-injured Dodger, second baseman Mark Ellis, upset Clayton Richard's shutout bid in a hard-earned victory in front of an announced crowd of 43,873.

One reporter Friday compared the popular perception of Ethier and Kemp's return to "the cavalry coming over the hill." That drew a perplexed reaction from Ethier.

"It's no different from the start of the season,"

he said. "Me and Matt just haven't had a chance to play a lot of games in the first half together. It's the same expectations we had coming into the season.

"No more, no less."

Source: http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_21074696/baseball-many-happy-returns-dodgers-triumph?source=rss

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