Dodgers To Start 2nd Half With Kemp, Ethier Back
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matt Kemp is on his way back to the starting lineup, and his presence couldn't come at the better time for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They open the second half of the season on Friday at home against San Diego clinging to a half-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West. The Dodgers stumbled into the All-Star break losing 15 of 20 games, including three in a row, with Kemp and Andre Ethier on the disabled list.
They're expected to be activated on Friday, according to manager Don Mattingly. Kemp would play his first game since May 30 after being sidelined by a strained left hamstring, while Ethier has been rehabbing his strained oblique in the minors.
The Dodgers took advantage of a weak early schedule to build a 7½-game lead by late May before most of it evaporated in June.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
