Dodger fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that outfielders Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and second baseman Mark Ellis have been re-inserted into the starting lineup.
They’re together again after each spent time with injuries and were on the disabled list .
In their first game back last week against the Padres, Kemp, arguably the hottest player in the MLB, went 2-4 with a single and a double, while Ellis hit a six inning, two-run homer which would turn out to be the winning shot that gave them a 2-1 victory.
Ethier missed just 11 games with a strained left oblique, but Kemp, who was out with a strained left hamstring, came back to the lineup for the first time since May 31, having missed 51 of the club’s 87 games. The Dodgers went 4-7 with Ethier out of the lineup and is 24-27 with Kemp on the DL. That was Ellis’ fifth game back from a leg injury, but first at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers were 24-12 (.667) when the dynamic duo was in the starting lineup and 20-9 (.690) when Ethier, Kemp and Ellis were all starting together.
“I was nervous my first game back,” Kemp said after the game. “Man, it's been a long time, a month and a half. I’ve been itching to get back out there and help my team win games. I’m going to lead the team to the playoffs and we're going to do some big things this year and get back to where we’ve been."
At the beginning of the interview, Kemp mentioned that all the glory should have gone to Ellis and his game-winning homer, but, of course, the fans were eager to hear from the league’s superstar.
Manager Don Mattingly had this to say about the return of the injured players – “It changes us defensively, it changes the way our order sets up, it just changes a lot of things you don’t realize. These guys just kind of solidify where we’re going to put people (in the lineup), and it makes it so much easier to put a lineup up.”
“We were a really good defensive team earlier in the year, and we’ve had to put people everywhere as we got some guys hurt,” Mattingly said. “This helps us to get back to that. It helps us get back to the kind of club that we have a chance to be.
“ Even before, we weren’t blowing anybody out, but you’re able to limit the outs the other team gets, limit their chances, and you keep the game closer and win a few more of these.”
Players like Kemp and Ethier make all their teammates better. And that is an important variable in professional team sports. With them back in the lineup, other players get to go back to the roles they are familiar with, and know that now they have that extra ammunition and support.
The kind of club they hope to get back to is the team that started out the season with the best win-loss record in the majors. Certainly, more will be revealed as the season unfolds as Kemp continues his pursuit of the “50-50 Club (home runs and stolen bases),” and Ethier keeps knocking in those runs to stay a top-ten RBI leader.
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