LOS ANGELES -- Matt Kemp is making a case for himself, regardless of where hes playing the rest of the season.
[b]Ndamukong Suh Rams Jersey[/b] . With his name being bandied about ahead of Thursdays trade deadline, Kemp hit a pair of two-run homers to power the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Atlanta Braves 8-4 Tuesday night. His four RBIs were a season high as he surpassed 600 career RBIs with 603. Kemp is hitting .400 in 10 games since the All-Star break. "Im not worried about any rumours," he said. "Im just worried about helping my team win." Kemp is playing right field, where he began his career, having been moved from centre field in the Dodgers crowded outfield. "Id play anywhere right now," he said. "Im just happy to be in the lineup." Yasiel Puig had four hits with two runs scored for the first-place Dodgers, who won their season-high fourth straight. Adrian Gonzalez is also hitting .400 since the break. He had two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. "Thats what we envision offensively," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We got contributions from all over." The Dodgers trailed twice in their first meeting with the Braves since eliminating them in a National League division series last season. Puig came up a home run short of hitting for the cycle, lifting his team-leading average to .317. He struck out in his final at-bat after tying his career high in hits. Los Angeles rallied from a two-run deficit to tie it 4-all on an RBI double by Gonzalez and an RBI single by Carl Crawford in the fifth. That set the stage for outfielders Crawford and Kemp to put the Dodgers ahead in the seventh. Crawford had an RBI groundout to second base and Kemp followed with his second two-run shot over the centre field fence for a 7-4 lead. Gonzalez doubled in another run in the eighth. Brandon League (2-2) got the victory in one inning of relief, allowing one hit and one walk. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 31st save. Kemps first two-run shot in the second briefly gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. "Matt did a good job hitting that curveball," Braves starter and former Dodger Aaron Harang said. "Thats the Matt Kemp I remember from the first half of 2012." Freddie Freeman, who went 2 for 4, put Atlanta back in front 3-2 in the third with his own two-run homer. Tommy La Stella tied a career-best with three hits and scored a run as the Braves three-game winning streak ended. Anthony Varvaro (3-3) took the loss, giving up three runs and four hits in one relief inning. Dodgers starter Josh Beckett struggled through another outing. The right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings, struck out two and walked one in dropping to 0-5 in his last six home starts. Harang faced his old team for the first time since being traded in 2012. The right-hander yielded four runs and nine hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one after going 4-0 in his previous six outings. TRAINERS ROOM Braves: Right fielder Jason Heyward was out of the lineup with lingering soreness in his lower back after straining himself while chasing a foul ball last Thursday. Rookie reliever Shae Simmons was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. The team recalled reliever Juan Jaime from Triple-A Gwinnett to take the roster spot of Simmons, who accompanied the team for the start of an eight-game, three-city road trip. Dodgers: Left-hander Scott Elbert was reinstated from the 60-day DL and designated him for assignment. He made 15 rehab appearances, including two starts for Rookie-advanced Ogden, Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Albuquerque as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery last year. Elbert was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA for those minor league affiliates. He last pitched in the majors in August 2012. ON DECK Braves: Left-hander Alex Wood (7-8) starts for the Braves in the middle game of the series. He has pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings in two career games against the Dodgers, allowing one hit and striking out three. Dodgers: Zack Greinke (12-5) starts for the Dodgers. The right-hander is 6-1 at home with a 2.73 ERA and holds opposing batters to a .222 batting average. He is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the Braves. WHERES BARNEY? Newly acquired second baseman Darwin Barney could join the Dodgers by Wednesday. He was acquired in a trade with the Cubs on Monday for a player to be named. Barney will give the team depth off the bench. He won a Gold Glove in 2012, but was let go by Chicago after hitting .230 with 16 RBIs in 72 games this season. A PLEASANT GOOD EVENING Dodgers fans will continue hearing that opening line from 86-year-old Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, who will return to the booth for his record 66th season in 2015. The announcement was made by a trio of players on the stadium video board during the game. HEAD FIRST Braves right fielder Jordan Schafer hit Puig, sliding headfirst, in the head with a throw in the seventh inning with the scored tied 4-all. The throw knocked Puigs helmet off before he barely got his hand safely on the base. QUOTE OF THE DAY "I made some bad pitches over the middle of the plate that he could hit," Harang said of Puig. "He has the power to drive the ball with authority and his speed helps him to get those extra bases."
[b]John Kelly Jersey[/b] . With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena.
[b]Ndamukong Suh Jersey[/b] . -- Chris Jones and Louisville have done a tremendous job protecting the basketball this season and thats led to easy victories. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- James Loney delivered the clutch hit for Tampa Bay after Chris Archer kept Kansas City from getting one. Loney hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Rays over the Royals 1-0 on Tuesday night following an impressive pitchers duel between top young arms. Archer wriggled out of two bases-loaded jams and went seven innings. Royals rookie Yordano Ventura dazzled in his season debut, holding Tampa Bay to two hits in six innings. "I saw some really good pitching on the other side," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "Archer was on top of his game. This guy had a big league two-seamer, 92-95 mph, throwing strikes with it, real efficient with his two-seamer and his slider. He had some nasty stuff working." Loneys grounder to right scored Wil Myers, who snapped an 0-for-15 slump when he reached on an infield single to start the ninth. Myers advanced on a two-out wild pitch by Greg Holland (0-1). "Loney is a very calm guy," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He does not get excited and I appreciate that about him." Loneys grounder got past a diving Danny Valencia at second base. "I wanted to hit it hard," Loney said. "You always want to hit it hard and hopefully not at somebody." Holland said he would have liked to have that last pitch to Loney back. "With first base open and essentially the winning run on second, Ive got to get that ball down a little more," Holland said. "Ive got to be smarter than that. In that mindset, I didnt execute the pitch and it cost us the game." Joel Peralta (1-1) struck out Valencia with the bases loaded, and Grant Balfour worked the ninth for his second save. Ventura walked none and struck out six, including Myers three times. "Ventura was really throwing good fastballs, triple digits at times," Yost said. "He threw some good breaking balls, but really had a good changeup working to keep them off balance. He matched up against a good pitcher and came out with nothing to show for it." Venturas iinitial scheduled start in Detroit was rained out, so he was making his first appearance since March 29 in spring training.
[b]Brandon Allen Jersey[/b]. "Its a lot of time between pitching," Ventura said. "Its my job. No matter how many days off, you have to do your job. I was just glad I was able to do my job today. Im used to pitching every five days. Thats what I want. It was a little tough." Archer pitched out of bases-loaded, one-out jams in the third and sixth. He induced Eric Hosmer to ground into a double play to end the third. In the sixth, Archer retired Alex Gordon on an infield popup and Valencia on a grounder to leave the bases full. "I had confidence," Archer said. "I didnt at any point think I was going to fail. The way we were playing D I felt like we were going to get it done." The Royals loaded the bases again in the eighth against Jake McGee and Peralta, but Valencia looked at three straight strikes from Peralta to end the inning. Mike Moustakas, hitless in his first 21 at-bats this season, opened the Royals ninth with a single to centre but went no further. Tampa Bay missed an opportunity in the eighth when Royals reliever Wade Davis walked Matt Joyce and plunked pinch-hitter Logan Forsythe with a pitch. Davis recovered to strike out Yunel Escobar and David DeJesus. NOTES: The Rays placed LHP Matt Moore on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow injury. An MRI exam was inconclusive and Moore will see Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday or Thursday for further exams. ... The Rays recalled LHP Jeff Beliveau from Triple-A Durham. ... Tests revealed Royals 2B Omar Infante has a sprained jaw, but no fracture, after being struck by a pitch from Heath Bell in the seventh inning Monday. Infante, who needed six stiches, will be evaluated over the next 48 hours, but the preliminary diagnosis was that he would not miss many games. ... Valencia made his first big league start at second base. ... The Royals lost for the first time since Aug. 30, 2013, at Toronto when allowing four hits or fewer.
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