LOS ANGELES — LChad Billingsley cooled off one of baseball’s hottest offenses through eight innings before Matt Kemp got to Ryan Franklin again. This time, his home run salvaged a victory for the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemp hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday that ended the Dodgers’ five-game skid.
“It’s one way to turn the page,” Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. “We talked about getting that rock rolling a different direction. It’s got to start somewhere and that’s a pretty good start there.”
Kemp homered to center field on the first pitch he saw from Franklin (0-2), who has four blown saves infive chances. Kemp did the same thing against Franklin in the series opener, but the Dodgers lost 9-5.
“He left one a little bit over the middle of the plate and I just kept my hands still,” Kemp said.
He went 3 for 4 for his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, and his .474 average leads the majors.
Andre Ethier led off with a double to deep right field off Trever Miller in his final at-bat, extending his major league-leading hitting streak to 14 games.
Jonathan Broxton (1-0) earned the victory despite giving up a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth.
National League PADRES 8, ASTROS 6
Will Venable hit a two run single in a four-run eighth inning and visiting San Diego rallied for a victory over Houston.
PIRATES 7, REDS 6
Andrew McCutchen opened the game with a home run against Edinson Volquez, then singled home the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning, rallying Pittsburgh to a victory over the host Cincinnati.
PHILLIES 3, MARLINS 2
Carlos Ruiz hit thego-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning after an error by the Marlins defense, and host Philadelphia beat Florida.
METS 3, BRAVES 2
Josh Thole had two run scoring singles, Dillon Gee came up from the minors to earn the victory and visiting New York beat Atlanta to end its seven-game losing streak.
ROCKIES 9, CUBS 5
Dexter Fowler hit a two out, two-run double to ignite a four-run eighth inning and host Colorado beat the Chicago Cubs for their eighth victory in nine games.
NATIONALS 8-5, BREWERS 4-1
Danny Espinosa followed a three-run home run in the opening game with a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning of the second, leading host Washington to a doubleheader sweep over visiting Milwaukee.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GIANTS 5
Stephen Drew drove in Justin Upton with one out in the 12th inning, and the host Arizona rallied to beat the San Francisco Giants.
American League MARINERS 3, ROYALS 2
Michael Pineda pitched six strong innings and Brendan Ryan drove in two runs as visiting Seattle beat Kansas City to end a four-game losing streak.
ANGELS 4, WHITE SOX 2
Dan Haren (4-0) pitched into the seventh inning, Maicer Izturis had three hits and visiting Los Angeles beat the Chicago.
RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 1
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run home run, Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in three runs and Jon Lester pitched a solid six innings to carry host Boston to a victory over Toronto.
TWINS 4, RAYS 2
Brian Duensing allowed two runs over seven innings, Matt Tolbert had an RBI triple and Minnesota stopped a four-game losing streak with a victory over host Tampa Bay.
INDIANS 4, ORIOLES 2
Grady Sizemore homered in his return for host Cleveland after undergoing major knee surgery last year.
ATHLETICS 5, TIGERS 1
Trevor Cahill pitched eight solid innings, Josh Willingham broke out of a slump with a two-run single and host Oakland beat Detroit.
YANKEES 6, RANGERS 5
Eric Chavez, filling in for an ailing Alex Rodriguez, singled home the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning and host New York hit three home runs off Alexi Ogando to beat Texas.
Sunday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 7, Cincinnati 6 Philadelphia 3, Florida 2 Washington 8-5, Milwaukee 4-1 NY Mets 3, Atlanta 2 San Diego 8, Houston 6 Colorado 9, Chicago Cubs 5 Arizona 6, San Francisco 5, 12 innings LA Dodgers 2, St. Louis 1 Washington 5, Milwaukee 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 4, Baltimore 2 Boston 8, Toronto 1 Minnesota 4, Tampa Bay 2 LA Angels 4, Chicago White Sox 2 Seattle 3, Kansas City 2 Oakland 5, Detroit 1 NY Yankees 6, Texas 5
Sports, Pages 16 on 04/18/2011