LOS ANGELES — He’s baaaaaack. In what would have been unthinkable four months ago, and even highly improbable even four weeks ago, Matt Kemp is back in the middle of another Dodgers opening day lineup.
Kemp bats sixth and starts in left field on Thursday against the Giants, who send left-hander Ty Blach to the mound in the first game of the season. Kemp is a career .319/.380/.542 hitter against southpaws, though hit just .250/.330/.354 against left-handers in 2017, his lowest mark since 2006.
This is the seventh opening day start for Kemp, putting him in a tie for 25th most in Dodgers history along with Don Sutton, Don Drysdale, Davey Lopes, Mike Marshall, Ken Landreaux, Bill Buckner and Ivy Olson.