Matt Kemp hits his first Dodgers home run since 2014

LOS ANGELES — Matt Kemp hit his first home run of the season in Tuesday’s win over the A’s, and his first home run as a Dodger in four seasons.

Kemp hit a solo shot in the sixth inning on Tuesday against Liam Hendriks, padding the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0. It was the first home run as a Dodger for Kemp since Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS.

“That was a long time ago,” he said, smiling.

Kemp also added a double giving him two extra-base hits on the night, one more than he had in his first eight games of the season. He has two straight two-hit games, and is 8-for-26 (.308) with three walks in the early going.

The Dodgers as a team hit three home runs, with Chris Taylor and Corey Seager also added solo shots. Tuesday nearly matched the Dodgers’ home run output of their first nine games of the year (four).

Seven hitters are tied for the Dodgers’ lead with one home run.

“A couple of us got our first ones tonight,” Kemp said. “I think any home run feels good, especially that one.”

The home run was the 106th home run for Kemp at Dodger Stadium, moving him into a tie with his former teammate Andre Ethier for the fourth-most hit at Chavez Ravine. Eric Karros leads the way with 130 career home runs at Dodger Stadium.

Kenley Jansen, who recorded the final two outs for his second save after a sluggish start to 2018 of his own, was giving his postgame interview at his locker when Kemp returned to his own locker just two stalls down (with an empty locker in between).

“Matt Kemp is back!” Jansen said.

“No, Kenley’s back!” Kemp replied.

Up next

The Dodgers finish up with the A’s on Wednesday, another 7:10 p.m. PT game. Alex Wood starts for LA against right-hander Daniel Mengden for Oakland.