SAN DIEGO (AP) — Matt Kemp moved a step closer to the NL Triple Crown with a solo homer and Ted Lilly combined with three relievers on a four-hitter, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Kemp went hitless in his first two at-bats before he homered leading off the seventh inning to tie St. Louis’ Albert Pujols for the NL lead with 37. Kemp, who leads the league with 119 RBIs, went 1 for 4 to keep his average at .326. He picked up a point on Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, whose average dropped one point to .329 and into a tie with New York’s Jose Reyes.
Kemp, one of the leading MVP candidates, is attempting to be the major leagues’ first Triple Crown winner since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
