Associated Press
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Perhaps one day, Bryce Harper will be hitting home runs at Matt Kemp’s current pace — although very few can.
For now, the Washington Nationals’ top prospect can take satisfaction from the fact he hit a rope over Kemp’s head in center field for a double in the third at-bat of his major league debut.
Harper also drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly and Wilson Ramos added an insurance run for the Washington Nationals with an RBI single. But closer Henry Rodriguez gave both runs back in the bottom half with the help of three wild pitches, and Kemp homered leading off the 10th to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.
“Kemp hit a bomb, and that’s terrible,” Harper said. “But he’s a great player and a great hitter. He’s hitting like .440 right now with 11 jacks and 24 RBIs. I know that if I had a number one pick, he’d be it. He’s unbelievable.”
Harper, the Nationals’ much-ballyhooed 19-year-old outfielder and the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, was 1 for 3 in his four plate appearances. He started out by hitting a comebacker in the first inning and flied out in the fifth.
“I really didn’t have butterflies at all. I think that’s one of the first times I’ve never gotten butterflies,” Harper said. “I was sitting in the dugout before the game and I was thinking to myself: ‘Wow, I’m in the big leagues.’ But I was talking to Adam LaRoche before the game and I told him: ‘Hey, I’m really calm right now.’ I was just trying to look for my pitch and got into some good counts. I think in the next week or so, it’ll really sink in.”
Because of the Nationals’ rainout last Sunday at Miami, Stephen Strasburg didn’t get the marquee matchup with NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw that many had hoped for. But the Nationals’ ace right-hander still had his hands full keeping up with Chad Billingsley, who matched zeros with him until both teams scored a run in the eighth against the two starters.
“We played a great team tonight,” Harper said. “Billingsley threw a great game and we fought ‘til the end. That’s the way you want to start off your career, I think. But I wish we would have gotten the W, of course.”
Kemp drove a 1-2 pitch off Tom Gorzelanny (1-1) to center field for his majors-leading 11th home run, breaking the Dodgers record for long balls in April set by Gary Sheffield in 2000. Kemp tossed his helmet as he galloped from third to home plate, where he was mobbed by teammates.
“We’re having fun right now,” Kemp said. “It took everybody to get this win tonight. I got the pitch I wanted to hit, a fastball over the middle and I hit it hard.”
Jamey Wright (1-0) pitched a perfect inning for the win.
Strasburg allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, struck out nine and walked none in his Dodger Stadium debut before a rollicking crowd of 54,242.
“I knew it was going to be a loud stadium tonight, so I just wanted to go out there and keep my composure, pound the strike zone and do my best and keep the team in the ballgame,” Strasburg said. “This was a tough one for us.”
Rodriguez, trying for his sixth save and first since tag-team partner Brad Lidge went on the disabled list on Friday, gave up a ground-rule double by Juan Uribe — one pitch after a fan ran onto the field and was tackled in left-center by security guards.
A.J. Ellis struck out and James Loney was thrown out at the plate on a grounder to first by pinch-hitter Adam Kennedy. But Rodriguez threw a wild pitch to Dee Gordon on a 1-2 count, allowing the tying run to score, and Gordon reached on a strikeout-wild pitch. Gorzelanny relieved Rodriguez, and Tony Gwynn Jr. lined out to first with two runners in scoring position.
“I was proud of the guys for bouncing back in the ninth,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “To scratch out a win against those guys is showing that our guys are playing together. It’s fun to watch Kemp, you see him getting better and better.”
LaRoche, whose two-run homer Friday night against Kershaw accounted for all the Washington scoring in a 3-2 loss, put the Nationals ahead 1-0 against Billingsley with a line drive into the lower seats in the right field corner on a 3-1 pitch. It was his third home run in 24 career at-bats against the right-hander.
The Dodgers pulled even after Strasburg hit Jerry Hairston Jr. leading off the bottom half. Loney reached on a fielding error by second baseman Danny Espinosa, and Hairston scored on a one-out single to left field by Ellis. Harper made a strong throw to the plate on the fly, but Ramos couldn’t handle it cleanly.
“I was trying to make a good throw and I had a good opportunity to try to throw him out,” Harper said. “I did the best I could, but it didn’t go our way.”
Billingsley gave up one run and five hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and a walk. He came in 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his four previous starts against Washington at Dodger Stadium.
PHILLIES 5, CUBS 2
PHILADELPHIA — Carlos Ruiz homered and drove in three runs, and Joe Blanton threw 7 1/3 sharp innings.
MARLINS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2
MIAMI — Hanley Ramirez hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth inning to end Miami’s losing streak at six with a win over Arizona.
GIANTS 2, PADRES 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum pitched eight sharp innings in his longest start of the season and had an infield single with two outs in the sixth for San Francisco’s first baserunner against Anthony Bass.
PIRATES 4, BRAVES 2
ATLANTA — Alex Presley had two hits, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, drove in two runs and also scored to help Pittsburgh.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 3
ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina went 4 for 4 with a two-run homer, and Kyle Lohse allowed three runs over six innings to run his record to 4-0.
METS 7, ROCKIES 5
DENVER — Dillon Gee shook off one tough inning in an otherwise strong outing, Lucas Duda homered and singled to drive in four runs for New York.
REDS 6, ASTROS 0
CINCINNATI — Jay Bruce homered for the third consecutive game and drove in four runs to back Johnny Cueto’s solid effort as Cincinnati beat Houston.
Tigers end skid
NEW YORK — Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in three runs, and Drew Smyly pitched into the seventh inning for his first major league win to help the Detroit Tigers snap a five-game.
RANGERS 7, RAYS 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — Colby Lewis allowed one run in six innings, Josh Hamilton had a two-run single and Rangers snapped Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak.
RED SOX 1, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO — Jon Lester outdueled Jake Peavy, lifting Boston over Chicago for its sixth straight win following a miserable start to the season.
ANGELS 2, INDIANS 1
CLEVELAND — Dan Haren pitched eight strong innings and Albert Pujols’ power drought continued for Los Angeles.
ORIOLES 10, ATHLETICS 1
BALTIMORE — Wei-Yin Chen pitched seven strong innings, Chris Davis had four RBIs, and Adam Jones and Robert Andino each had three hits to lead Baltimore.
BLUE JAYS 7, MARINERS 0
TORONTO — Brandon Morrow pitched six innings, Edwin Encarnacion hit a grand slam and Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak.