On Tommy's birthday, Kemp puts on a show

Tommy Lasorda probably wishes this Matt Kemp guy was around when he was managing.

Kemp helped the Dodgers close out the home season in style, hitting a homer and three doubles, as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 8-2. The win gave the Dodgers two of three, and even sweeter, helped push the Giants on the edge of playoff elimination. Yes, it was a good night.

With Lasorda serving as Don Mattingly's honorary coach, Hiroki Kuroda took the mound for what very well could be his last time in front of the home crowd. He got a couple of grounders to begin, but then watched Carlos Beltran laser one out to center to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

No matter, as the Dodgers took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame. It all started with Kemp, who hit the first of his career-high three doubles with two outs. Juan Rivera stepped in and absolutely crushed a no-doubter to left to make it 2-1. It was his fifth as a Dodger.

In the third, Dee Gordon and Jerry Sands hit consecutive singles to open up the inning. The only blemish on Kemp's night was a long fly to right that was just tracked down by Beltran for the first out. With Gordon on third, Rivera hit one back up the middle for the RBI single and 3-1 advantage.

The Dodgers kept the pressure on against Madison Bumgarner as Kuroda settled in. Rod Barajas singled with one down in the fourth. An out later, Kuroda did damage with his stick, singling for two on. An RBI single by Gordon later, and it was 4-1.

With Steve Edlefsen now in, the Dodgers increased their lead even more in the fifth. It was Kemp who started it with his second double. Two straight walks an out later to Aaron Miles and James Loney loaded the bases. Waldis Joaquin came in, and Barajas also took a walk to force in a run. Jamey Carroll's RBI grounder gave the Dodgers a commanding 6-1 lead.

The rest of the game was gravy, as it was all about what else Kemp could do. After Pablo Sandoval hit a homer in the seventh to make it 6-2, Kemp returned the favor, and then some, in the eighth. With Gordon on base from a walk, Kemp smashed one to center for his 36th of the season, ending the scoring at 8-2.

Kemp received a curtain call that he most assuredly deserved, as the home crowd paid their proper respects to the MVP candidate. Scott Elbert struck out Hector Sanchez to end the game.

Before getting to Kemp's bloated numbers, Kuroda deserves plenty of respect as well. He added to his career-high total by winning his 13th. He lasted seven innings for five hits, two runs, no walks, and four strikeouts. His only two runs were on solo homers. With a 3.17 ERA, Dodger fans can only hope he'll be back for even more next year.

Because of Kemp's 4-for-5 outburst, a realistic question can now be raised: Can he win the vaunted Triple Crown? Well, it may not be so unrealistic after all. He's third in average at .326 to Ryan Braun's .330, second in homers at 36 to Albert Pujols's 37, and first in RBIs with 118, five in front of Ryan Howard. And with the Phillies wrapping up a postseason berth in April (seems like it anyway), Howard's been resting his sore ankle.

It's obviously a very difficult accomplish to pull off, but if anybody is up for it, it's Kemp. His average on September 15 was .314, and it's now .326. He needed to get on a homer role again, and he has with three since then. He also drove in eight runs. In other words, just when you thought he didn't have much gas left in the tank, he refuels and looks even better.

So what needs to happen over the last six games to make this thing happen? For starters, he can't go all or nothing with his at-bats by thinking about only homers. His average will dip a bit if he does that. He'll get his homers if he relaxes and swings like he has been the last week.

Of course, he'll also need some help from Braun and Pujols, as a few hitless games from them can go a long way.

If the tentative pitching matchups don't change, then Kemp get a nice little boost by avoiding Ian Kennedy. The toughest pitchers he'll face look to be Aaron Harang and Daniel Hudson, who are solid, if not spectacular hurlers.

The home schedule has concluded with the Dodgers at 42-39. They will now hit the road for the season's last six games, as they look to also get over the .500 mark with a current 36-38 record. Ted Lilly will take the mound against Wade LeBlanc.