Dodgers 2, Padres 0
Matt Kemp blasted his 37th home run to keep his Triple Crown hopes alive as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the host San Diego Padres 2-0 on Friday.
Kemp tied with Albert Pujols for the National League lead in homers with his solo blast off Wade LeBlanc (4-6) in the seventh inning as the Dodgers won for the sixth time in their last last seven games.
With five games remaining, Kemp’s .326 batting average is third in the National League behind Ryan Braun (.329) and Jose Reyes (.329). His 119 RBIs lead the league by six over Ryan Howard.
Kemp is attempting to become the first Triple Crown winner since the Boston Red Sox' Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and the first in the National League since the St. Louis Cardinals' Joe Medwick in 1937.
Ted Lilly (11-14) struck out seven over 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Javy Guerra worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save.
LeBlanc gave up two runs with a career-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings for the Padres, who were shutout by the Dodgers for the fifth time this season.